


The Road Home

by BlueMaize



Series: In The Middle of All Things [2]
Category: Flashpoint (TV)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Past Rape/Non-con, Team Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-31
Updated: 2016-01-13
Packaged: 2018-04-29 03:40:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 46,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5114576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueMaize/pseuds/BlueMaize
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set before In the Middle of All Things. </p><p>Sam, a troubled Alpha soldier running from things that happened to him in Afghanistan, gets more than he bargained for when he joins Team One. He was looking for an escape but he just might have found a family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> An unintentional prequel that just kind of wrote itself. As the tags say, non-graphic mentions of past non-con/rape. Also some strong language. Scenes with Spike take place pre-bonding. Small bit of dialogue borrowed from Scorpio.

Sam's bedroom door creaked open and he was immediately alert to his surroundings. Soft footfalls approached the bed and he rolled over. Spike was standing by the side of his bed, hovering uncertainly. 

“I had a nightmare.” He said in a whisper, eyes downcast. Sam pulled back the covers, inviting Spike in. Spike was shivering as he lay down but he flinched when Sam wrapped his arms around him.

“Hey, I would never hurt you.” Sam said quietly, not letting go of the Omega. After a minute Spike relaxed then pulled closer, latching on to Sam’s t-shirt.

“What was the nightmare about?” Sam asked. When Spike didn’t reply, he leaned back so he could see Spike’s eyes. “Nightmares don’t seem so scary when you talk about them.”

When Spike does talk, it’s so quiet Sam can barely make out the words. He understands though, as Spike relates one of what Sam imagines are many stories of being brutalised at the hands of an Alpha. This one was ex-military from the sound of it.

He’d never had contact with an Omega that wasn’t protected by someone and a willing participant in anything that happened between them. He knew it wasn’t always the case and there were unprotected Omegas in the military whose treatment was less than stellar. Omegas like Spike.

There was a sound of movement from Ed’s room next door and Spike froze in his arms, breath catching. 

“Hey, hey.” Sam tried to gently reassure him, a hand caressing Spike's face. He knew that Spike's fear of the other two Alphas was something they were all struggling to overcome. “Greg and Ed are nothing like that Alpha. Believe me, I know.”

When Spike looked up to meet his eyes again, there was curiosity more than fear in their depths. Taking advantage of it, Sam started to tell the story of how he’d become part of Team One. 

***

The cab took him from the airport and, on hearing the unfolding situation on the radio, he diverted the reluctant cabbie to get a look at the action. After his brush with the team, “nice post-incident reflexes guys”, he went to the SRU headquarters with Commander Holleran to get acquainted.

He knew how he was arriving wasn’t how they usually recruited. He knew strings had been pulled and that that would put people's backs up. But he didn’t care. He was home, and Afghanistan, and all that fucked up crap, was thousands of miles away.

“There’s no Omega on the team?” was Sam’s first question after his assignment to Team One.

“No, we don’t use them as a rule in the SRU.” Commander Holleran clarified. “The Alphas on the teams self-stabilise." That gave Sam his first point of pause. Maybe he hadn’t escaped Afghanistan as completely as he’d planned.

There were some military units composed of all or mostly Alphas that didn’t include Omegas. Usually due to impracticality with them spending weeks and sometimes months away from bases where Omegas were permitted to stay.

Alpha bonding wasn’t common but it was a quick and successful way of ensuring a bond in the absence of an Omega. He’d only had to endure it twice, for a single long haul mission, but he would have done a lot to avoid having to repeat it. The first time had been a cold, impersonal and humiliating experience at the hands of the team commander and he’d done his best to forget it. But then that whole mission had turned into a seemingly never ending nightmare. It had spurred him into looking back towards home and led him to the SRU.

*** 

Sam had almost finished his first week with Team One when Ed and the Sarge had called him into the briefing room and sealed the doors behind him. He’d been expecting this from the moment Commander Holleran had laid out the situation. 

Greg spoke first. “Sam, as you know, we don’t have an Omega on Team One so we wanted to discuss Alpha bonding.”

Sam, standing just inside the door, braced himself and tried to keep as calm as he could. He’d known this was coming, had had time to mentally prepare. All he had to do was get through it.

“Sure. How do you want me?” He moved a few steps towards the table, hand going to his belt and tried to sound nonchalant about the whole thing.

“You’ve done this before?” Greg sounded surprised and Sam resisted the urge to look at him. Avoiding eye contact made what was about to happen easier.

“Yes sir, did a remote long haul mission about eight months ago. Alpha only team.”

Sam paused, hands on his belt, waiting for instructions. His hands were steady, his breathing even. He wasn’t scared, no sir.

“We’re not the military Sam.” Ed spoke up from somewhere to Sam’s left. 

“Meaning what, sir?” Sam asked, keeping his eyes trained steadily on the table. It would be over soon, if they just got on with it.

“Meaning that’s not how we do things here. Sure, penetrative sex and a bond bite guarantees a short term bond but we think more long-term in the SRU.” Greg answered.

“Long-term?” he asked, looking up finally. 

He was surprised to find his body almost flooded with relief at Greg’s words. It must have been more obvious to the others than he’d realised because Ed was catching him by the arm and pushing him into a chair before sitting down next to him, keeping a steadying hand on him. Greg moved to lean against the table on the other side of Sam. His piercing gaze unsettled Sam who clenched his fists to hide shaking hands.

“We take quality over expediency. Which, in layman's terms, means we’re going to woo you until you decide you want to bond with us.” Greg said, with the merest hint of a smile.

“Yeah, we find it works better than raping you over a desk.” Ed said bluntly and Sam couldn’t hide a flinch. Greg rested a hand lightly on his shoulder.

“It’s not rape…” Sam started to protest. 

“Yeah, it is.” Ed’s voice was soft in Sam’s ear. “If you’ve been ordered and don’t have a choice, that is textbook institutional rape.”

“Sam, we appreciate that you want to be on this team and that you will do a lot to make this work. But we aren’t going to ask you to do that. What we will ask is that you spend some time with us, socialise, get to know us. And we take things from there.” Greg’s voice was a world away from the Alpha Commander’s.

“Okay, sounds good to me.” Sam said agreeably, hiding his bewilderment at how all this was playing out.

***

After Sam had left, Greg sealed the room again and sat down next to Ed at the table.

“Did you know?” Ed asked.

“No, I had no idea.” Greg was shaking his head. “He hid it well, even when we had him in here with door locked.”

“Think he’ll work out?” Ed asked the obvious question.

“He has a lot of potential and clearly a lot of resilience given how together he is. With a bit of training, he’ll be an asset to this team.”

“I agree. But he might never be ready to bond with us.” Ed said.

Their eyes met, both troubled by the knowledge of what had happened to the young Alpha. Forced Alpha bonding was frowned upon but that didn’t stop it happening, especially in the military where bonds needed to be formed quickly.

“His psych eval was promising. It picked up on something but all indications are that he’d dealt with it.” Greg added.

“So we keep with the plan, let him get to know us and hope bonding starts to seem appealing?” Ed sounded less than confident.

"Exactly." Greg said. “Unless you have a better idea?”

“We could always look for an Omega.” Ed suggested.

“That’s one minefield I don’t want to traverse unless we have no choice. You know what Commander Holleran’s feelings are on that.” Greg replied.

“And it won’t solve the problem, we still need some kind of bond with Sam.” Ed added with a sigh.

Greg rested a hand on his arm. “Give it time Ed. Once he sees we’re not like the military, he’ll come around. 

***

It only took ten days for him to fuck up. That had to be some sort of record. Ed was fuming, Sam could tell, as they got into the cars to head home. Wordy was driving next to Sam and he caught the concerned looks out of the corner of his eye. Sam’s stomach churned in nervous anticipation.

He shouldn’t have gone in after the suspect after Ed had told him not to. But the guy had sped past him, Sam had given chase and caught up to him easily. He hadn't known what Ed knew, which was that the guy was both armed and headed for a dead end. Luckily the vest had caught the bullet and it would be no more than a bruise and not even a cracked rib. He’d still disobeyed an order and that was what was going to sink him.

He shuddered to remember the last time he’d broken the rules. His Commander had given him two choices. Take what was coming to him or get written up. With the implication being that he’d get what was coming to him either way. They couldn’t do too much damage as they needed him functioning for the mission but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt like hell at the time. Three bars of soap in a bag will do that while not leaving much by way of bruises.

It also didn’t prevent the Commander engaging in another forced bonding session as a “reminder” about Sam doing what he as told. This time on his hands and knees in the Commander’s tent instead of across his desk. Change of scene if not of content.

The debrief was quick and clean. The others filed out as Ed told Sam to stay behind. Greg was sitting at the table but his attention was on the report he was still completing. Sam stood as Ed went to the door and sealed the room. He swallowed and looked to the floor, focusing on keeping his breathing calm.

“Hands on the table, now.” Ed barked.

Sam reacted immediately, turning and leaning over to brace himself on the table. It was suddenly hard to take a deep breath in. 

“You’ve broken the rules before.” Ed said, and it was more statement than question.

“Yes, sir.” Sam answered.

“How’d that go for you?” Ed’s voice was even but Sam could hear the steel underneath.

“I took my punishment Sir.” The implication being that he’d take it again.

“What was it?” Greg asked casually from where he sat to Sam’s right. “Your punishment, that is.” 

When Sam hesitated, Ed spoke again. “The Boss asked you a question.”

“A few rounds with a bag of soap.” Sam held back from being completely truthful with them.

“That it?” Ed asked, in a tone that said he knew it wasn’t, and Sam had no choice then but to disclose.

“And a reinforcement of the Alpha bond with my Commander.” Sam wasn’t sure why all the talk and no action. It was just making him more nervous.

He should have been more careful what he wished for as a second later Ed was right behind him, hand pushing Sam’s upper body down onto the table, his lower body pressed into Sam’s. Sam shut his eyes instinctively but held himself still.

“Eddie.” Greg’s voice held a warning. 

“It’s okay Greg, I know what I’m doing.” Came the sure reply from above before the voice was directed at him. There was no anger in Ed’s voice with just a hand pressed lightly between Sam’s shoulder blades as he talked. Had Sam wanted to, he could have got up and walked away but he forced himself to stay in position.

“I’m guessing you’re feeling pretty vulnerable right about now.” Ed said. Sam felt it was rhetorical enough that he didn’t need to answer.

“But I also suspect that you’re listening really well right this second which is good, because I need you to hear what I have to say.”

Sam had been wrong. There was more talk.

“We’re not the military Sam. And I’m not the fucked up Alpha Commander who beat you with bars of soap and forced himself on you. But I am this team’s leader and you do need to listen to me and follow my orders. You need to trust that I have your back and that I’m making the right decisions. And buddy I wish we had time to build trust between us first before you follow the orders but it doesn’t work that way.”

He pulled Sam up and turned him around so they were face to face. Blue eyes meeting blue.

“When I say stop, you stop. You go in on my command, you keep entry formation and you don’t go in without your shield. Are we clear?”

“Yes, Sir.” Sam answered, a little dazed.

“Good. Greg, anything you want to add?”

“Someday soon Sam, you and I will sit down and talk about your Alpha team placement. Just remember that we can only do what we do because of who and what we are. We connect, respect and protect. We keep the peace. Do you really think our team could achieve that if we were doing what your Alpha Commander did?”

Sam got it then, what Greg was saying and what Ed had tried to tell him the previous week. The tension left him and he sagged a little in relief, Ed’s hand going under his elbow to support him. “No, I guess not.”

Ed clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Right, team’s going for drinks. Let’s head out. You too Greg.”

Sam was surprised. Was he really getting away that lightly?

Ed must have read something on his face. “You get shot, you buy the first round. Team rules.”

Sam managed a surprised laugh in response and followed Ed out of the room, Greg trailing behind them. They really were nothing like his Alpha Commander. For the first time in a long time he began to suspect things might actually work out.


	2. Candid Conversations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Similar to the last chapter, non-graphic mentions of past non-con/rape. Plus some non-graphic consensual stuff in there, for balance.

Ed and Greg were true to their word and Sam found himself slowly being courted, for lack of a better word. There were team nights where they’d all hang out together and then there would be invitations to join Greg and Ed for dinner or a quiet drink. He turned down a few at first to see what kind of reaction he’d get and was relieved when there were no repercussions. 

They were gently persistent though so Sam found himself accompanying the two men to Ed’s favourite pizza parlour. It was an old fashioned Italian style place and the waiter knew Greg and Ed by name. 

They ate pizza, drank soda and talked a little about their backgrounds. Sam was the only military brat but Ed’s dad had been a cop. What Greg’s dad had been he didn’t know. A bully maybe?

Afterwards they dropped him home and other than a quiet “thanks for coming out tonight” from Greg, nothing else happened. Sam was surprised to find his hands shaking when he let himself into his apartment and spent a while leaning back against his front door, just breathing.

***

After they dropped Sam off, the ride home was quiet. 

“That went well.” Ed said eventually.

“Yeah, better than I thought it would.” Greg answered with a smile. “I was beginning to think we weren’t going to get him out with us at all.”

“Have you talked to him about his Alpha team placement yet?”

“Not yet, he’s been avoiding being alone in a room with me.” Greg said.

“How about next time we patrol, you two pair up and turn off the headsets for a bit. He’ll be a captive audience.” Ed suggested. “Might be better than having that discussion in the briefing room.”

“Alright, I’ll try it. We’ll see how it goes.”

***

There was general merriment among the team when Ed announced they were patrolling. The cheer was infectious until Ed paired him with Greg and Sam figured out they’d be alone together for hours. There was a sudden leaden weight in his stomach when he realised this was one conversation he wasn’t going to be able to avoid or obfuscate his way through.

And Greg knew it as well Sam realised, when he took the keys from him as they walked to the car throwing a simple “I’ll drive, you talk” over his shoulder.

He got in, put on his seatbelt and faced straight ahead. After a few minutes of silence, Greg, switching his mic off, spoke.  
“So, tell me about Afghanistan.”

Turning his mic off too, Sam replied. “What do you want to know?”

“Just start from the beginning of your second tour.”

Sam went through it like he was reading his file. Places and bases he’d been assigned, commanding officers.

After a while, Greg stopped him. “I can see this isn’t working out. Let’s not beat about the bush as I know this conversation isn’t going to get any more comfortable. Tell me about your Alpha team placement. How’d that happen?”

Sam, knowing he wasn’t getting out of the conversation, took a moment to collect his thoughts before answering.

“Alpha teams are supposed to be strictly volunteer only but in reality there’s a lot of pressure when they want you on one. It’s seen as a good career advancing move. I don’t think most of them are as bad at the one I was on. It was kind of a top down thing with the Commander…” he trailed off.

“So you got chosen for the team?” Greg prompted.

“Volunteered, officially, but yeah they picked me out. It was for a long-haul mission in a remote area to take out a number of targets over the space of a few months. The mission was right up my street, a lot of long-distance shooting once the targets had been identified.”

“So what happened?”

“It started badly and just got worse. Two days before we were due to head out, the Commander calls me in to his office and explains the concept of Alpha bonding then orders me…” Sam paused, stuck for words.

“Did he do it then and there?” Greg asked calmly, little or no inflection in his tone. “Yeah.” Sam answered, keeping his eyes trained on his hands. 

“Just him?” 

“Just him.” He confirmed.

“And then?” Greg prompted again.

“And then we went on the mission. Took out target after target. It was a success at first but then… it felt apart a bit. The reconnaissance for one of the missions was completed and I was taking out targets in a stronghold 1500 metres away. When we went down to do the IDs one of them was my buddy Matt. He shouldn’t have been there. I was cleared to fire.” Sam took a few deep steadying breaths.

Greg pulled into a lay-by and they sat in silence with only the hum of the engine audible above the noise of the passing traffic. 

“I decked the guy who’d been in charge of the reconnaissance. Matt had been with them. They’d missed him on the headcount when they withdrew.”

“That was the time you broke the rules?”

“Yeah, that was it.” Sam admitted. 

“It’s not in your file.”

“It didn’t get written up, the Commander liked to deal with disciplinary problems in-house.”

“So he beat you with bars of soap in a bag?” Greg asked. Sam nodded adding “it doesn’t do too much damage or leave too many bruises.”

“And he bonded with you.” When Sam made no reply he said. “Tell me about that Sam.”

Greg made no move to get back on the road and they continued to sit in silence.

“Did it happen like the first time?” Greg prompted gently when Sam couldn’t get his tongue to work.

“More or less.” Sam got out eventually. “The first time.” His voice cracked a little. “The first time was cold and impersonal, just something he was doing as a matter of course. The second was different. It was more personal. He did it in his own tent. He was angry and he took it out on me. I had bruises on my hips and I bled after.” Sam could feel his face flush as he spoke.

“Did it happen again after that?” Greg asked carefully. 

“No, I was careful to stay out of trouble after that.” Sam finally looked at Greg whose calm clear eyes looked back at him.

“Thanks for telling me all that Sam. I know it wasn’t easy but I needed to know. Is there anything else you want to say or ask?”

There was only one question that Sam really wanted answered.

“Are you going to kick me off the team?” He couldn't quite meet Greg’s eyes when he asked it. He wanted so much for this to work and had worried for days that this conversation was going to be the end of all that.

A hand gripped his chin and directed his gaze upwards. He was caught and held by Greg’s eyes. “No Sam, no one’s kicking you off the team. Not for things that happened to you outside of your control. Do you hear me?”

“I hear you.” Greg let him go with a pat to his cheek. 

They pulled out of the lay-by shortly after that and continued their patrol.

When they invited him out for drinks two days later, he didn't give it a second thought, he just said yes.

***

That night as they lay in bed, Greg related word for word what Sam had told him during their talk. He could tell Ed was upset though he hid it well from Greg’s knowledgeable gaze. 

“How do guys like him get away with pulling crap like that in this day and age?” Ed asked, tone tinged with frustration and anger. 

“When it comes down to it, the military is still a throwback to bygone days. Some of it at least. There are no clear rules against Alpha bonding and it’s all too easy for people to look the other way when a bit of physical discipline is happening.”

“Do you think his Dad knows?” Ed seemed like he wasn’t quite sure it was a question he wanted answered.

“I doubt Sam told him, if that’s what you’re asking, but I’d say there’s little that happens to Sam that Colonel Braddock isn’t aware of. He strikes me as the kind of man who’d feel the career benefits of Sam’s alpha placement outweighed the negatives.” Greg said, as he trailed a comforting hand up and down Ed’s arm. 

“So what do we do about Sam now?”

As Ed spoke he moved, rolling Greg onto his back. He propped himself up on his arms above him and held his gaze. Greg smiled and kept talking.

“Get him out with us again this week, cement the idea that he’s part of the team and not being rejected for what he’s gone through and that he’s worthy of his place here. Bolster his self-esteem when and where we can.”

“Yeah, but he’s not exactly lacking in confidence where his own abilities are in question.” Ed pointed out. He ground his hips against Greg as he talked then leaned in to kiss his neck, right at the point where his pulse throbbed.

Greg’s breath hitched as he replied. “He is certainly sure of his strengths but he’s keenly aware of his deficits. You saw how he was with the negotiation role play the other day. He’s not used to struggling with learning things. Relating to the bad guys isn’t going to come naturally for him. It was all too black and white in the military.”

Ed had begun to trail kisses down Greg’s chest but lifted his head to respond.

“Agreed, he’s got the tactical covered, so we can focus on getting the rest up to speed. Not to mention convincing him that spending time with us is worth his while.”

The last was said with a wicked grin as he slid down the bed and took Greg into his mouth. 

There were no words after that, only groans, clutched bedclothes and laboured breaths.


	3. Bumps in the Road

Getting taken hostage by a pissed off Alpha hadn’t been how he wanted to spend his Friday afternoon. But there he was, hands bound behind him, kneeling on the cold stone floor of this guys basement. He felt the blood dripping from a cut on his forehead.

The Alpha in question was waving his gun around and ranting about conspiracies and how _they_ had stolen his Omega. He had Sam’s radio in his other hand and every so often he’d talk into it, demanding the return of his Omega in exchange for Sam’s return.

They’d been down there at least an hour and Sam wasn’t any clearer who _they_ were. He also hadn’t been able to put any of his admittedly very basic negotiation skills into play, or even personalise himself to his captor, given he’d been gagged. At least the gag was stemming the blood from his cut lip. Small mercies.

He finally heard Greg’s voice on the radio talking back and he was so relieved at the familiar tones that he let his eyes close for half a second. So he didn’t see the kick the Alpha aimed at him, catching him square in the ribs and knocking him on his side. The gag muffled any sound he might have made and he missed what he guessed was an important part of the conversation between Greg and the other Alpha.

There was a second kick to his back but he was more prepared the second time and rolled with it, lessening the impact. He managed to get back up to his knees in time to hear Greg agreeing to the Alpha’s demands. They’d give him back his Omega in exchange for Sam.

Greg and the crazy Alpha fleshed out the details, with the latter choosing the place to make the exchange. It seems like an odd choice, an abandoned factory near the docks, but tactically speaking it was much safer than them trying to storm the basement.

Sam was pulled to his feet and marched up the stairs, gun to his head. His main worry at this stage was the guy accidentally shooting him. He seemed unstable enough to forget that he was not supposed to pull the trigger.

Through pushes and shoves he got Sam into the garage and forced him into the back of a dark van. The doors were slammed shut behind him. Seconds later they were moving and Sam struggled to anchor himself, getting thrown around as the van took a corner at speed. New worry, that the guy would crash and Sam would die for want of a seatbelt. He managed to wedge himself into a corner, pushing his feet against the floor to brace himself against the walls.

Once he was as secure as he was going to get, he regulated his breathing and kept his calm. The team, he knew, would be all over this. They’d get to the warehouse and they’d take the guy down and Sam would be freed. All in a day’s work.

He estimated they’d been driving for about forty minutes when they finally came to a stop. The Alpha opened the door and light flooded the dark interior, blinding Sam.

“Out, now.” The man said and Sam pushed to his feet and made his way towards him. He was grabbed and shoved out once he came within arms reach then the Alpha marched him, hand on his bound arms, across the courtyard in front of an old, dilapidated building.

Sam’s eyes adjusted to the light and he caught sight of the sniper perch on the roof of the building. He wondered idly if it was Ed or Jules.

“Mr. Lafayette, I’m Greg Parker, we spoke on the radio.”

Greg appeared from the factory door, covered by Lou and Wordy who had their shields up in front of him.

“Where is Lucy?” Lafayette demanded. “You told me she’d be here.” The cold metal of his gun was pressed firmly to Sam's head.

“I think you already know the answer to that Kingston. We can’t bring Lucy back. No one can.”

“No, no. She would never leave me. We were meant for each other.”

“But she did leave you, didn’t she. She ran away, went to a shelter. Changed her name, her hair, her past. All to get away from you. But you found her.”

“No.” Out of the corner of his eye, Sam could see Lafayette shaking his head.

“Let Sam go Kingston. It’s over.”

“No, you have to give me Lucy back. I need Lucy. Where have you taken her?” Lafayette sounded desperate.

“We haven’t taken her anywhere Kingston. She’s been in the morgue for the past two days. A jane doe, her body dumped near a river, neck broken.”

There was silence for a moment except for the sound of harsh breathing from the man holding his gun to Sam’s head.

“I just wanted her back.” Lafayette said, his voice hushed. “But she wouldn’t stay. She kept running. I just wanted her to stop running.”

Sam couldn’t see the man’s face, but suspected if he did there’d be tears; his voice was so caught up with emotion.

“Let Sam go Kingston. It’s over.”

“Yes, you’re right. It’s all over. Tell her family I’m sorry. Tell Gina I really loved her little girl.”

Sam, for all his inexperience, heard the second it turned from a potential homicide to suicide. He could see from Greg’s face that he knew it too. The pressure against his head eased.

“Kingston, don’t do anything rash. Don’t make a bad situation worse. Don’t take the easy way out. Stay and make amends. You owe Lucy that, at least.”

Greg’s words got through and Sam felt the grip holding him loosen, heard the sound of a gun being tossed to the ground.

Then there were bodies charging towards them, corralling Kingston first before Greg caught hold of Sam and pulled him out of reach. He freed his hands, then helped Sam get the gag off.

Sam caught Greg’s wince as the cloth was removed and wondered just how bad his face looked.

Ed joined them a minute later, gun in hand. He had been the sniper Sam had seen up on the roof.

“Is he okay?” he asked Greg.

“We’ll let the paramedics check him out.” Greg replied.

He was escorted over to the waiting ambulance and sat uncomplaining as they checked him over. He watched as Kingston Lafayette was taken away in handcuffs. He watched the team as they finished up the call, dotting their i’s and crossing their t’s. Their movements were practised, their interactions seamless. It looked so easy watching them. It had felt like that for him at one time, in the army. But then things changed and every movement since had felt stiff and wrong. He wondered if he’d ever feel part of their team or if he’d always feel just a step removed.

Greg returned to get the paramedic’s verdict. “Mostly cuts and bruises. Those ribs will hurt come morning. If they don’t stop hurting in a day or two, go and get him an xray.”

“So he can go home?” Greg asked and Sam was relieved when the paramedic nodded.

Sam stood and Greg reached out a supporting hand. He was guided over to an SUV and Greg directed him into the back seat. A few minutes later another door opened and Ed climbed in beside him. Greg drove.

No one spoke and Sam watched the view pass by as they travelled, savouring the chance to see another sunset. He realised they weren’t taking him home when Greg took an unexpected turn off the road.

“My place is…” he started to say, then stopped, because he knew they knew where he lived.

“You’re coming to stay with us for tonight. No arguments.” Ed said. It was clearly something they’d decided earlier.

Something must have shown on his face because Greg moved immediately to reassure him. “We’ve got a spare room or two. I just don’t think you being alone after today is such a good idea.”

“Do I get a say?” Sam asked after a minute. “Not really.” Ed replied. “Unless you’ve got a really convincing argument.”

“If you were any other member of the team, we’d be doing the same. Well, maybe not Wordy, he has a family to go home to. But Jules and Lou. They’d be right where you are now.”

And that was reassuring for lots of reasons so Sam relaxed for the rest of the journey.

His memories of their arrival were fuzzy, the adrenaline wearing off and tiredness catching up with him. He had a vague recollection of climbing some stairs and someone pulling off his shoes. Then cool sheets and blissful darkness.

***

He woke to the persistent throb of bruised ribs and groaned as the smallest movement sent waves of pain through his body. Ouch.

When he opened his eyes and looked around, his surroundings were unfamiliar. He caught sight of a glass of water and two pills on the bedside locker. He ignored them, sitting up cautiously and swinging his legs over the edge of the bed.

His body was a catalogue of small and bigger hurts. He forced himself to compartmentalise, pushing the hurt into a corner of his mind. He was in his shirt and boxers but looking around the room he couldn’t see the rest of his clothes. He remembered the ride home with Greg and Ed, so knew where he was.

He got to his feet and went in search of a bathroom. It was easy to find being the only room in the hall with the door ajar.

While he washed his hands he got a first look at his face in the mirror. There was dried blood on his forehead, his lips and his chin.

He splashed water on his face then tried to scrub off the worst of it with his fingers. He looked around for something to use but didn’t want to get blood on Ed and Greg’s nice white towels.

There was a knock on the door and Ed poked his head in. When he caught sight of Sam, face dripping with water tinged pink, he pushed the door open fully and came in.

He eyed Sam for a moment then pulled a towel from the rack and leaned over to the sink to run it under the hot water.

“Lift your head up.” Ed said and proceeded to gently clean the blood off.

“How are your ribs?” he asked, as he turned his attention to Sam’s forehead.

“They’re okay.” Sam answered easily.

“Yeah?” Ed replied nonchalantly. He reached past Sam to wring the towel out in the sink, brushing against Sam’s side as he did. Sam couldn’t hide his wince at the contact.

“You want to try that again?” Ed said.

“They’re sore but I’ve had worse.” Sam amended.

“Did you take the advil Greg left out for you?”

“No.” Sam said, adding “not yet.” when he caught the expression on Ed’s face.

“Good answer.” He scrutinised Sam’s face again before giving a satisfied nod.

“Come on.” with a hand on Sam’s shoulder Ed guided him from the room and into the hall. Instead of back to his the guest room, he directed him into another room across the hall, guiding him to sit on the bed. He went to the dresser and pulled out come clothes. “They should fit well enough for now. Greg washed yours, they’re in the drier.”

Sam pulled the sweatpants on before reaching for the sweater. He hissed as raising his arms sent pain shooting across his chest.

“Here, let me.” Ed took the sweater from his hands and guided it over his head, helping him get his arms into the sleeves.

Ed’s hands rested briefly on Sam’s shoulders before he stepped back.

“How about some breakfast?”

“Sounds good to me.” Sam answered, feeling the hollow in his stomach that told him he hadn’t eaten in a while.

Greg was coming in the front door when they got downstairs, a bag of groceries in his hand. “Morning guys, I got some bagels and juice.”

Ed approached him and Sam watched, feeling awkward, as the two men kissed in greeting.

“How are you feeling Sam?” Greg asked as he and Ed pulled away from each other.

“He’s playing the stoic soldier.” Ed said before Sam could answer.

“Why am I not surprised?” Greg said as he moved past them towards the kitchen. “I bet the advil is still sitting on the bedside locker too, huh Sam?” he called back through the door.

Sam was surprised to find himself flushing at Greg’s words. “I’ll get them, you go sit at the table.” Ed said, propelling him gently towards the door.

Sam took a seat at the table and accepted with quiet thanks the bagel and glass of juice Greg set in front of him. Ed returned and set the pills down next to his glass. Sam obediently swallowed them down with a mouthful of juice.

Both men joined him at the table, Greg reading a newspaper while he drank a cup of coffee and Ed chewing contemplatively on a bagel. “Guns and Gangs are making headlines again.” Greg mentioned, pointing out an article to Ed who moved to read over his shoulder.

Sam watched as Ed reached an arm around Greg’s shoulders as he read, resting his chin against him. Their easy interactions and camaraderie was something Sam had never witnessed at his own breakfast table. His parents, when they were there, were always stiff and formal.

“How long have you two…” Sam trailed off as he decided the question was a little too personal to ask.

Greg answered anyway.

“We’ve known each other a long time but our relationship, us living together, that only happened after we joined SRU. As you know, Commander Holleran isn’t a fan of using Omegas as the sole means for stabilising teams but teams with more than one Alpha need some form of bond so things don’t get territorial or strained. Initially they’d avoided putting more than one Alpha on a team, but that meant we weren’t getting some of the most skilled people on board.”

Ed was nodding in agreement.

“So a new approach was tried. Ed and I were placed on the same team. We tried a few ways before we finally figured things out.”

Sam chewed on that as he continued munching on his bagel. Eventually he ventured another question.

“And how I would I fit into all this?”

“It’s like we said Sam, spend some time getting to know us and we’ll take things from there.” Ed answered easily.

Sam contemplated this as he sat there, resisting the urge the push the last of his bagel around the plate.

After breakfast, Greg directed Sam to the shower. When he stepped out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around his waist, Greg called to him from somewhere nearby.

He looked in through the nearby open door to see Greg folding clothes and putting them away in a dresser. “I left your clothes in the guest room. How are you ribs?” Sam stepped into the room and turns a little to let Greg get a look at the bruises on his side. “They’re not so bad. Just bruised.”

Greg moved towards him frowning a little and with a hand on Sam’s shoulder turned him around. “You’ve got a boot print on your back too.”

“Yeah, he wasn’t the friendliest guy. But like I said, it’s just bruised. Nothing broken.” Greg ran his knuckles gently over Sam’s bruised skin and he couldn’t quite contain a shiver at the touch. “You’re gonna be sore later. You know, Ed gives really great massages, after the game, we can enlist his healing hands.”

“Game?” Sam latched on to the least intimidating thing Greg had said. “Yeah, you’re staying right? I mean we can drop you home if you want but you might as well hang with us.” For the first time since Sam had met him, Greg sounded uncertain.

“Uh, sure I guess.” Sam had just assumed they’d be bringing him home after his shower.

He got dressed then joined them downstairs for the game. He found himself sitting between the two men but struggled to get comfortable. Greg and Ed shared a look, the Greg got up and left the room. He returned a few minutes later with something wrapped in a towel.

“Here, lean against Ed.” Sam found himself carefully manoeuvred so his uninjured side was pressed against Ed while Greg lifted his shirt and placed the towel wrapped object gently against his bruised ribs. The warmth seeping into his skin told him it was a heat pack and he was grateful for their thoughtfulness as it eased the painful spasm of his muscles.

Ed shifted to put an arm around Sam’s shoulders. Greg eyed them for a moment before making a suggestion. “You might be more comfortable with your feet up." He helped Sam bend and lift his legs so he was curled up on the sofa, upper half of his body pressed against Ed, his legs across Greg’s lap. He should have felt uncomfortable with the close quarters but it took the pressure off his sore spots and he found himself relaxing.

Ed was absentmindedly stroking a hand down Sam’s upper arm while Greg had a warm grip on the bare skin of Sam’s ankle. It felt a bit possessive but he wasn't arguing. After yesterday he was very glad to be in the company of people who had his back.

He drifted off to sleep as the game played on.

He was nudged awake some time later. “Wake up sleepyhead.” Ed sounded amused. When Sam opened his eyes he found Ed mere inches away. His heart skipped a beat but when Ed leaned in to touch his lips to Sam’s, he froze.

Ed pulled back a little and whispered. “You know, you’re cute when you’re sleeping.”

The words were so unexpected that it forced a laugh from Sam. He ignored the pull in his ribs and closed the distance between them, capturing Ed’s lips with his own. If Ed was surprised, he didn’t show it, expertly kissing him back, hand on the back of Sam’s head.

It wasn’t soft or gentle, it was harsh and intense, all tongue and teeth. When they broke apart they were both panting hard. “No more getting taken hostage.” Ed said.

“Not for another year at least.” A voice added. “Ed and I age five years every time it happens.”

Greg was standing in the doorway watching them, an amused smile on his face. Sam found himself blushing a little then mentally cursed himself for it.

“Are you guys hungry?” Greg asked, kindly ignoring Sam’s reaction. “I was thinking steak.”

“I think you’d better leave that to me. Last time you charred it beyond recognition.” Ed detached from Sam and headed for the kitchen, stopping to kiss Greg and whisper something in his ear as he  passed by.

Greg moved to sit next to Sam. “Do you want some more advil or another heat pack?”

“No, I’m good.”

Greg, for the second time that day, seemed uncertain around Sam. It was so different to the surety of Ed. So Sam made the first move, leaning over to brush lips against Greg’s cheek. Greg turned his head and their lips met. It was different to Ed, softer, more tentative. It made Sam wonder what had happened in Greg’s life that made him sensitive to rejection.

Those thoughts faded as they moved closer and instinct took over. The idea of wanting an Alpha bond didn’t seem so far fetched right at that moment.


	4. Scorpio

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Somewhat graphic, fully consensual sex scenes in this and future chapters. I should probably attach the warning more to the quality of the writing than anything else...

Three weeks, a dozen calls and a handful of team and date nights later and Sam was feeling more and more a part of Team One. He had a friendly competition with Jules that Ed would allow them to act out every so often, giving them a break from relentless training and drills. Lou, being the rookie on the team before Sam’s arrival, was good for advice, urging Sam to give himself a break when his negotiation skills seemed slow to improve.

Then came their next call. Their subject was only 17 and had taken hostages at a creche. A history of substance abuse and mental health problems. They were cooped up in an enclosed garden and Sam took a perch on one side of the roof, Ed on the other. Sam, having a slightly better angle, was Sierra One. Ed, Sierra Two. Sam listened in to Greg’s negotiation. The older man seemed to make a connection, gaining the young man’s confidence. 

The story began to come together, in bits and pieces, with the help of some background provided by Jules. A belief that there was a threat to the children at the creche, a monster hurting them. An all too human monster, as their subject’s background was revealed. His mother had owned a creche but had hated children, her son most of all. A handful of child services reports surfaced of injuries, burns, bruises. Nothing concrete enough to ever act on. A teenager turned to drugs to cope with the ghosts of his childhood and plagued with hallucinations and paranoia. A mind tormented.

The turning point was not what any of them expected. One of the hostages was a parent, come early to take her child to a doctor's appointment. It happened just as things were quieting down, Greg getting through to the young man, when it looked like they were all going to go home.

But the woman spoke, said something. Sam didn’t pick up on exactly what it was, only Greg's calm admonishment for her to keep quiet. She didn’t listen, instead becoming indignant. Sam could hear her tone if not her words. It undid all the good work Greg had done. And they had no choice, Sam had no choice, as the subject raised his weapon, as Greg spoke the magic word. 

“Scorpio.” 

He took the shot. No hesitation.

He was fine in the immediate aftermath. There was no trouble with SIU and he got back to the station and joined the team for the debrief. It was as they went through the last few minutes of the call that Sam felt helplessness at knowing what was coming but being unable to stop it. He had no doubts that he had done the right thing, the only thing. It was the knowledge that negotiation to safety was within their grasp, and human stupidity the cause of its revocation, that tore at him.

Which was why he found himself in the gym afterwards instead of heading home. He wrapped his hands well before tackling the punching bag, feeling the satisfying thud that each punch brought. He saw movement from the corner of his eye and Ed walked into view. He didn’t talk but moved to steady the bag. When Sam paused he spoke. “Keep going.”

He did, getting out all his frustration, until he found himself tiring, slowing and he stopped. He took a seat on the bench nearby. Ed sat beside him.

“Better?” he asked. Sam could only nod. 

Greg and Ed drove him home. When they reached his apartment block, Greg turned around from the front seat. 

“Why don’t you pack a bag and come stay with us for a few days?”

It was an offer too tempting to refuse and ten minutes later he was back in the car, bag in hand.

When they arrived, Greg put his bag in the spare room while Ed handed him towels and nudged him towards the bathroom.

The hot spray of water felt good on his skin, washing away the sweat and the illusion of blood on his hands.

He wasn't sure how long he stayed in there; too long though. There was a hand on his shoulder and he was turned and pressed against a broad chest. The water was turned off.

“Some days just aren’t ours. No matter what we do, what we say.” Greg’s voice in his ear. A second set of hands helped hold him up as Greg guided him out of the shower. He took the proffered towel and dried off then pulled on the clothes Greg handed to him. The front of Greg’s shirt was wet from where Sam was pressed to him. Greg brushed off his attempted apology. “It’s just water.”

Sam wound up in their bed. There was no discussion just a silent mutual agreement. Greg talked for a while, voice a low murmur in Sam’s ear until he fell into a deep sleep.

He woke to the feeling of someone pressed against him and his body tensed while his brain tried to work out what was going on.

“Hey, it’s just me Sam.” Ed said sleepily, and the body pressed against him eased away. It all came back to him, the sierra shot, the kid, coming home with Ed and Greg.

Early morning light filtered through the curtains. Greg was on the other side of Sam, fast asleep. Sam turned to lie on his back. Ed was propped up on an elbow beside him.

“Did you sleep alright?” he asked, his voice soft. 

“Yeah, really good actually.” No dreams, no nightmares, no tossing and turning; how he normally slept after taking out a target. He hadn’t expected to with the emotional turmoil that the previous day’s call had generated.

One of the things Greg had said stuck with him. That they didn’t always get to feel right about doing right. Sam liked that because while he knew taking the shot was the right thing to do, he didn’t feel right about it. The only other time that had been a problem was after Matt. Having orders didn’t absolve your conscience of the guilt.

Greg turned and sighed and they both glanced at him but he settled back to sleep. When Sam turned to Ed, the older man put a finger to his lips. He reached over and traced light fingers along Sam’s face, then brought his thumb to gently brush across Sam’s lips. He leaned in and kissed him, the lightest touch of lips then a slow increase of pressure.

When he pulled back Sam moved to follow but Ed gently pushed him back down. Greg stirred beside them and they both froze. When he settled once more, Ed gave Sam a grin that told him exactly what kind of game they were playing, before he shifted to lie on top of him. His hands moved lower, trailing down Sam's chest to circle his nipples through the light material of his t-shirt. As he did, he placed warm wet kisses along Sam’s neck. He hit a sensitive spot and Sam bit his lip to silence a moan. It had been a long time since he’d had this much intimacy with another person. A few one night stands hadn't been much of a substitute.

Ed was wicked, Sam realised as he deliberately returned to the sensitive spot in the crook of Sam's neck, licking and biting at it. When biting his lip wasn't enough to muffle the sounds he was making, Ed released him and then his mouth was on Sam's, their kisses hungry and intense.

Ed returned to working his way down Sam’s body. He pushed Sam’s shirt up to bare his stomach and licked a long line to his bellybutton, circling it with his tongue. Sam used his own hand to stifle his groans. Ed’s mouth was on his stomach but his hand wandered lower, brushing the bulge in Sam’s groin. Sam’s breath hitched at the contact, reaching a hand out to clutch at Ed’s shoulder. 

“Are you guys planning to invite me to the party?” Came a bemused voice as Greg sat up next to them.

“I was just getting him warmed up.” Ed said from his position on top of Sam. 

“I can see that.” Greg replied. “Morning Sam.” He said, and leaned over to kiss him. His eyes watched Sam’s for a moment after they broke apart. “Are you comfortable with this?”

“Oh, yeah.” Sam answered, a little out of breath.

“Alright, I’ll leave you in Ed’s capable hands.” And he moved back, sitting up against headboard to watch them.

Ed moved lower, pulling Sam’s shorts down as he did. 

“Actually Greg, I need a distraction.” Ed said. Sam didn’t know what he meant but Greg must have because he leaned back over and captured Sam’s lips again. He pushed his tongue inside Sam’s mouth and Sam was lost in the kiss. So much so that Ed’s mouth on his cock was a surprise and he gasped into Greg’s open mouth and shuddered. Greg swallowed down his moans, then pulled back to look into Sam’s eyes again. 

The wet heat of Ed on him was too much. “Ed, I can’t..” He started to say. “Just let go Sam.” Greg said, hand cradling Sam’s face. He kissed him again. “Let go…” And Sam did, coming in Ed’s mouth and feeling the man swallow around him.

Ed moved to lie next to Sam. Sam reached for him, wanting and needing, to reciprocate. 

Ed pulled Sam against his chest while Greg crowded close to Sam's back. They used hands to get each other off, Sam reaching a hand down to Ed, while Ed reached behind Sam to Greg. Greg's arm was around Sam's body, holding the young man close as they both pushed against him. Greg bit gently on the back of Sam's neck as he came and Ed orgasmed a moment later. They lay close together afterwards, a pile of warm, sticky bodies. 

Eventually Greg spoke. “How about a shower and some breakfast?”

“I can make pancakes?” Sam offered. “I brought some mix with me.”

“Sex and pancakes, sounds like the makings of a perfect morning.” Ed said giving Sam a sinful smile before leaning over to place a kiss on Greg’s shoulder.


	5. Threats and Misunderstandings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who's reading along and especially to SoupShue and siennavie for the encouraging comments.

They fell into a kind of pattern after that night. When they had difficult calls Sam would stay with Ed and Greg. They’d have sex, though never penetration; Sam wasn’t keen and they didn’t push. Then Sam would return to his own life until the next time. 

It seemed to work and the team was stable. Sometimes Sam felt lonely in the inbetween times but he didn’t feel it was fair to disrupt Greg and Ed’s life together by insisting they fit him in to their every moment. They had the relationship he was just… a necessity for the sake of the team. It didn’t bother Sam all that much. He went out, met people. Went home with them sometimes. It filled the vacuum between his nights with the two men.

He settled into his role in the team, happy to find them willing to draw on his tactical knowledge and experience while guiding him through his weaker areas. Jules was a good friend and she’d often accompany him on night’s out. “I’m your wing-woman.” She’d joke. “I’ll profile any beta angling to get in your pants.”

He’d been almost three months with the team when his father contacted him. There was an invitation to return home and join the family for dinner. An invitation being effectively a summons when uttered from his father’s lips. 

He turned up neat, clean shaven and tidily dressed leaving no room for immediate criticism though he knew fault would be found somewhere.

After an awkward dinner with his parents, his mother excused herself and Sam followed the General into his study. The General stood by the fireplace and Sam could tell from his posture that he was about to launch in to a lecture. It started predictably enough.

“Your transfer back to civilian life was a mistake Samuel.” His father intoned. “You were climbing the ladder and had an excellent career ahead of you but you threw it all away in a moment of weakness.”

Sam wanted to reply, to defend his choices, but as always where his father was concerned, he struggled to speak up for himself. 

“But I have made some inquiries on your behalf and found a way for you to redeem yourself and get back on track. There’s a position opening up in an Alpha unit in Afghanistan. They need experienced snipers and they’re happy to overlook your temporary lapse in judgement. The Commander in particular, having worked with you before, was agreeable to you re-enlisting.”

Sam looked up in horror at his father’s words.

“Sir, I have no intention of re-enlisting. I am happy working with the SRU. I feel I’m making a difference there.”

“A difference?” the General gave a dismissive laugh. “As some two-bit police officer who spends too much time talking and not enough shooting?”

“I like what I’m doing and I like being part of the team.”

“Oh, I’ve heard all about your team and their habits. I know about the time you spend with your Alpha leaders.”

“We work well together, the team is stable.” Sam was hoping his father wasn't talking about what he seemed to be.

“They’re not bonding with you of out of the goodness of their hearts. It’s useful for them to have another tactical officer on their team. You’re overqualified so they’re emotionally manipulating you to ensure you stay.”

Sam finally found his tongue and came to the defence of his team.

“That’s not what their doing. A certain amount of bonding is required for team stability and we… we gel well.” Sam didn’t know how else to explain to his father that Ed and Greg weren’t just using him, that all three of them gained from their closeness. The team benefited from it too.

“I’m sure that’s what they’re telling you while they laugh among themselves about how easy you are to manipulate. I hear they only take you home with them when they have to. When they need to emotionally buffer you after a call. I’ve seen some of their reports. They have you wrapped around their cocks.”

His father’s words were harsh and struck Sam like a physical blow. They reflected some of his own concerns that their taking him home was a necessity they tolerated. From the look of satisfaction on his father’s face the General knew his words had hit home.

“I’ll give you some time to think on it. Colonel Saunders doesn’t need an immediate reply but is very keen to have your skills on his team.”

Sam froze at the name. Colonel Saunders had been the Commander on his last mission in Afghanistan. He glanced over at his father who was watching him carefully.

“You know what Colonel Saunders did.” Sam said. “What needed to be done, of course.” His father said blandly. “You suck it up and get on with it, like any soldier would.”

Sam couldn't get out of his parent's house quick enough. Afterwards he drove around on his motorcycle as the sky grew dark before making his way home. He cooked some dinner but found he wasn’t hungry, pushing the noodles around on the plate. 

It was approaching eleven when his phone rang. The number on the screen looked like a satellite phone. He answered. 

“Corporal Braddock or should I say Officer Braddock. It has been a while hasn’t it.” 

Sam recognised the voice instantly. “Colonel Saunders, sir. What can I do for you?” he fought to keep his voice calm, feeling his adrenaline spike.

“I am just off the phone with your father. He seemed disappointed with your response to his offer and I thought perhaps I could be of some assistance in helping to convince you to make the right decision.”

“I appreciate the call sir, but as I told my father, I am not interested in re-enlisting at this time. I’m working with the Strategic Response Unit here in Toronto.” There was a pause on the other end of the phone.

“Yes, so your father was telling me. He feels you’re making a mistake and I have to say I agree with him.”

Sam closed his eyes but forced the next words out of his mouth. “I understand that sir but I have to respectfully disagree. I am exactly where I need to be at this moment in time.”

“Is that right Officer Braddock?” Saunders sounded detached, disinterested. “And where is that exactly? On your hands and knees being fucked by your two Alpha leaders? And to what end, where will it get you?”

“They aren’t you.” Sam ground out, angry that Saunders tried to make that comparison.

“No, they certainly are not. With me you’d have job stability, career advancement and the respect of your fellow soldiers. With them you’re just a brow beaten cop going nowhere.”

“I disagree.” Sam said.

“Well, let me help persuade you otherwise. There’s an opening on my unit for you. The offer stands for the next week. This is your one and only chance to return. If you refuse it, I’ll file retrospective charges against you for disorderly conduct and move to have your discharge made dishonourable. Your name will be blacklisted and you’ll never work in the military again. I can promise you your SRU job won’t last long after that.”

Sam, gripping the phone tightly in one hand, struggled to get his breathing under control.

“Why? Why would you do that?”

“Because I don’t easily let go of what’s mine. I thought you’d change your own mind, that a few weeks in civilian life would be enough to send you running back to us but I see you need some encouragement. I expect to hear from you by 2100 Friday.” The call cut off abruptly.

Sam let the phone drop and held his head in his hands, trying to make sense of the last few minutes of his life as everything seemed to spiral out of his control. He was clearly being set up but whether it was more his father’s doing or Colonel Saunders, he couldn’t tell. The question was what, if anything, could he do about it?

He thought about calling Ed and Greg but something stopped him. For one thing, what could they do do and for another, Sam was very conscious of what his father had said about them. What he right about them only sleeping with Sam to stabilise the team and keep him there. And did it really matter to Sam if that was the case? 

Yes and no, he supposed. But if that was the only reason, then once Sam’s presence became more trouble than he was worth they’d be glad to be rid of him. The scheming of his father and Colonel Saunders could cause no end of trouble for Commander Holleran and the team.

He had a week, a week to come up with a plan or make a decision. He’d need it.

***

Greg found Ed sitting on the side of the bed staring blankly at the wall.

“Everything okay Eddie?” he asked in concern.

“I was just thinking. Where is this thing with Sam going?” he replied.

“How do you mean?”

“I’m just saying it's been three months. We’re buffering him around calls, which is great, but isn’t it time we sounded him out about moving things along?”

“We agreed to let him come to that decision himself.” Greg reminded Ed gently.

“Yeah, but I’m beginning to think he doesn’t know the option is open to him. Jules said he’d had a few nights out but shows no inclination to start a relationship up with anyone else. Do you think he realises we’re just waiting for him to come to us?”

“We said we’d give him time.” Greg was reluctant to push the young Alpha.

“And we are giving it to him, but what if he starts to feel we’re just doing what we do out of duty? What if he doesn’t realise there’s more on offer if he wants it?” Ed’s eyes met Greg’s and he could see the worry in them.

“Okay, you have a point. Do you think we should talk to him?”

“Yeah but I don’t want him to feel pressured. That’s the last thing we need.”

“We could always get Jules to talk to him. They seem pretty close.”

Ed considered that for a moment. “We could. She could sound him out, get an idea of how he see's things before we talk to him.”

Greg could see the appeal of the plan. “Alright, I’ll talk to her tomorrow, see if she can nudge a few ideas into his brain.”

***

The weekend hadn’t given Sam any clarity with only one clear choice open to him. He turned up to work on Monday tired and distracted. 

“Hey man, are you okay?” Lou asked when he picked him up outside his apartment building. “I’m fine, just didn’t sleep well that’s all.” Sam answered.

The day dragged on, with Ed sending them outside to do sprints when everyone seemed a little lacklustre after the weekend. “Come on people, where’s that Monday morning spirit.” He chided them. 

Sam didn’t join the team for lunch in the afternoon, instead heading outside for some air and to try and clear his head. He was only out a few minutes when Jules joined him.

“Hey.”

“Hey yourself.” He answered.

“You seem a little blue today.” Jules said, leaning against the wall next to him. 

“It’s Monday.”

“Right. I thought maybe it had to do with Ed and the Boss.”

Sam looked over at her, surprised. “What are you talking about?”

“Well, you like spending time with them, right. You like… being with them.” Jules was being careful with her words and Sam didn’t know where she was going with it.

“Yeah, what of it?” He couldn’t help being defensive.

“So why don’t you spend more time with them, outside of the tough calls?”

“Why are you assuming that’s my choice and not theirs?” Sam answered in frustration.

“So you’re saying if you thought you had a choice, you’d spend more time with them?” Jules prodded.

“I… I guess. I mean, I don’t want to keep inserting myself into the middle of their relationship. That isn’t fair. And it’s not like they’re pushing me to join them outside of calls.” Sam said.

“But if they offered you wouldn’t say no?” Jules persisted.

Sam looked up at the sky for a long moment before sighing and turning to look at Jules. “It’s a moot point anyway. I’ve been… offered the opportunity to re-enlist. In a few weeks none of this will matter.” 

He pushed away from the wall and headed back inside, not giving Jules the chance to respond.

***

“Re-enlisting?” Ed asked in disbelief.

“According to Jules, that’s what he said. Walked off before she could ask him about it.”

“I thought he was settling in. He hasn’t said anything about being unhappy or feeling like he’s being underutilised.” Ed sounded lost.

“Jules said there was something odd about the way he phrased it. That he’d been “offered the opportunity to enlist.” She said he didn’t seem happy about it.”

“Think his father had a hand in it?” Ed wondered.

“Undoubtedly. I wonder what kind of pressure they’re putting him under? After what happened on his last tour I can’t imagine him being too keen on re-enlisting.” 

“No, I can’t see him re-enlisting without a gun to his head, metaphorically speaking. So why hasn’t he told us what’s going on?” Ed asked, frustrated.

“Jules said he went to see his family over the weekend, so I’m guessing this is all pretty recent. I don’t think he even meant to tell Jules, it just came out.” Greg said.

“Alright, then let’s bring him home with us tonight and figure out what’s going on.”


	6. Truths

Getting Sam to come home with them was easier said than done. Greg asked him but he made a vague excuse about having somewhere to be and disappeared into the locker room. When Ed went to find him, he was already gone. Lou said Sam had left in a hurry minutes before.

Ed stormed out, collecting Greg and heading to the car. “Ed if he doesn’t want to come home with us, then we need to leave it.”

“No, we need to know what’s going on. He’s gone from happy and settled in to the SRU to avoiding us and talking about re-enlisting.”

Ed drove, pulling out of the car park at speed. “If he’s on foot, he’s probably headed south. He can’t have got far.”

He hadn’t and Ed pulled in beside him, putting on the handbrake and getting out of the car.

“Sam?” The young Alpha didn’t stop walking. Ed followed him and grabbed his arm, spinning him around. “Sam!”

“Let go of me.” Sam replied, as he pulled his arm from Ed’s grip and turned to walk away. Ed reached out and pulled him back around.

“Get in the car, now.”

Sam tried to pull his arm free from Ed’s grip a second time but Ed wasn’t letting go. “I said let go.” Sam looked round, seeming desperate, and for a second Ed thought he might run, or take a swing at him. Greg, the voice of reason, intervened.

“Sam, it’s cold out, it’s been a long day and it’s obvious something is going on. Get in and we’ll talk about it.” His calming voice seemed to do the trick and Sam lowered his arm with a sigh. Greg gestured towards the car and Sam walked past them and got into the backseat.

Greg and Ed shared a look before Greg went around and got in beside him. Ed paused a moment to take a few deep breaths before getting back in the driver’s seat.

***

They didn’t talk on the ride home and Ed drove straight to their house.

A reluctant Sam accompanied them inside and they sat down in the living room, Sam sitting on one side of the couch with Greg beside him but not crowding him. Ed pulled a chair over to sit near them.

“What’s going on Sam?” Greg asked carefully.

“I’m re-enlisting.” He didn't meet their eyes as he spoke.

“Why is that? I thought you were happy with SRU?” Greg kept his tone open and friendly, trying not to make it sound like the interrogation it was.

“I am. But there are better career advancement opportunities with the army.” Greg’s expert eye told him Sam’s body language was at odds with his words; tense, unhappy, weighed down. Not someone who believed they’d made the right decision but somebody whose hands were tied.

“When did you decide this?” Ed asked.

“I have until the end of the week to make up my mind.” And he was giving evasive answers, which wasn’t typical of Sam.

“It sounds like you’ve already made it.” Ed said. “Or someone has made it for you.” Greg added. Sam looked up and met their eyes for one brief moment before looking back down at his hands, fisted together in his lap.

They sat quietly for a while, Greg and Ed communicating silently over Sam’s bent head.

“Why don’t you walk us through what happened?” Ed asked eventually, voice quiet.

“I don’t want to drag you guys in to this.” Sam replied.

“Do you think we aren’t already involved? Were you seriously not even going to discuss this with us?” Greg could see it was a struggle for Ed to keep the anger out of his voice and Sam reacted negatively, withdrawing even further into himself.

Greg decided to tackle things from the other side first. It might be a way to convince Sam to trust them enough with what was going on.

“Jules said you mentioned not wanting to push yourself into our relationship. We need to talk about that. I think there’s been a miscommunication. We were trying to give you the time and space to decide whether you wanted more but we may not have been clear that more was on offer.” Greg said. He could see Sam considering his words but they were both floored by what Sam said next.

“Are you only saying this now because I’m leaving?” he asked, looking from Ed to Greg to see their reaction to his accusation. The distrust was clear in his face but Greg couldn’t understand where it had come from. He could see the anger flare up in Ed at the question and spoke before Ed got the chance. Getting angry or defensive with Sam wasn’t going to induce him to confide in them. It would just push him away.

“No, we’d already decided to discuss this with you but we didn’t want you to feel under pressure so we asked Jules to sound you out.” Greg clarified. From the expression on Sam’s face, he seemed torn between wanting to believe them and doubting their sincerity. Clearly something or someone had rattled him.

“I think I should go.” Sam stood up. Ed caught hold of his sleeve. “Sit down a minute Sam. Please.” It was the please that did it and Sam sank slowly back down onto the couch.

“Come on Sam. Tell us what’s going on.” Ed’s voice was a hair's breadth above a whisper. Sam looked from Ed to Greg, eyes bright. He opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t seem to get the words out and dropped his gaze to his hands.

“That bad, huh?” Ed continued, voice soft. He reached out to place a hand on Sam’s shoulder and squeezed gently. “Buddy, let us help.”

Sam started to speak. “They…” but lapsed into silence. He wiped angrily at his eyes, took a deep breath and tried again. The words rushed out, like he couldn’t say them fast enough.

“If I don’t re-enlist, they’re going to bring me up on retrospective charges and insist on a dishonourable discharge. They’ll blacklist me from the military and make sure I get kicked off the force.”

It all began to click in to place for Greg; why Sam’s demeanor was consistent with someone under duress.

“Who are _they_?” Ed asked the question they were both wondering.

“Colonel Saunders, the Commander of the Alpha unit. And my father.” Greg was unsurprised to hear Sam’s father was part of this, from what Sam had told them about him, it had the General stamped all over it. But the Alpha Commander? He hadn’t anticipated that. No wonder Sam was tied up in knots.

“They threatened you?” Ed asked and Greg could see his eyes darken in anger at the thought.

“Not the General, he just tried to bully me into it. Colonel Saunders was the one making the threats but it was clear he and my father planned it together.”

Ed moved to sit beside Sam on the couch and Greg, sitting on the other side, shifted closer. “Why didn’t you come to us?”

Sam rubbed a hand across his forehead. “They told me… they told me.” He was visibly stressed, hands clenching into fists. He looked from one man to the other. “That you were just manipulating me, only sleeping with me because you needed me stable. They said you’d written it in your reports.”

Greg looked to Ed, seeing in his face a reflection of the anger he himself felt. Sam kept talking, seeming unable to stop once he’d started.

“Look it doesn’t matter if that was the case, I wasn’t expecting anything more. I just didn’t think there was much point in telling you. Pretty soon I’m going to be a lot more trouble than I’m worth. You won’t want that. Commander Holleran won’t want that.”

Sam let his head fall into his hands as he ran out of words.

“So re-enlisting was your solution?” Ed asked, trying to get Sam to meet his eyes.

“It’s not like I have a lot of options left.” Sam kept his head down and spoke to the floor.

“Does re-enlisting mean going back to the Alpha unit? Back to Colonel Saunders?” Sam didn’t answer Greg’s question but the way his body tensed next to them was enough of an answer.

“Damn it.” Ed swore softly.

***

“I really think I should go.” Sam got to his feet again and moved towards the door, hearing Ed and Greg stand up behind him. The longer he stayed the harder it would be to leave.

Hands caught hold of him and pulled him around. Sam fought them, tried to pull away. “Ed, let me go. Please.” But Ed’s arms were strong and unyielding and Sam’s struggles half-hearted.

He let Ed pull him in, let the older Alpha put his arms around him. “Easy Sam, I’ve got you.” He surrendered, letting his head fall onto Ed’s shoulder.

He heard Greg behind him, felt him move to stand close to his back, then heard Greg’s voice in his ear.

“I wrote a standard team stability report four weeks ago that said you had integrated well into the team and no issues had been identified. That is the only report I’ve written on your participation on the team as an Alpha.” Greg rubbed a hand up and down Sam’s back and Sam let himself relax in their arms. “We are not sleeping with you only to keep you stable. We’ve wanted more since we met you but we didn’t want to push after what you’d been through. I can see now that that was a mistake.”

“Greg’s telling you the truth.” Ed said, cupping the back of Sam’s neck with a warm hand. “We want you and we are not going to let you go without a fight.”

“We’ll talk to Commander Holleran.” Greg added “and figure something out.”

Sam desperately wanted to believe them but if what they were saying was true it was even more reason for him to put some distance between them. They didn’t deserve to be hit by the fallout from his mess.

“Let’s all of us sit down and talk about how we’re going to handle this.” Greg’s hands on Sam shoulders gently detached him from Ed and led him back to the couch. They sat close either side of him.

It was so hard to think in proximity to the two men, so hard to be objective. He knew he should get up and leave but after the stress of the last few days he was reluctant to leave the comfort and security of their embrace.

“What do you want to do Sam?” Ed asked. “Forget your father and the Colonel. Forget anything else. Just tell us what _you_ want.”

Sam didn’t even need to think. “I’m want to stay in the SRU. I want… more from this relationship.” It was a relief to say it, to admit what he’d been denying, even to himself.

To his surprise, Greg actually chuckled. “Well, that’s a relief.” Sam, bewildered, turned to him. That wasn't the reaction he was expecting. “I was worried you wouldn’t want to attach yourself to two ageing Alphas.”

Sam rolled his eyes. “You’re hardly old men.”

“That’s what I said.” Ed chimed in. The tension in the room eased.

“I’m sorry I didn’t come to you, tell you what was going on.” Sam said.

“I don’t blame you for not knowing who to trust. But you’re here now and that’s what matters.” Greg replied.

“We have your back Sam. We’ll get through this.” Ed added.

Sam wished he felt half as confident as Ed and Greg sounded. But he knew his father and he knew Colonel Saunders. They weren’t going to make this easy.


	7. Consequences?

They were on late shift the next day and for the rest of the week. Greg proposed that he would talk to Commander Holleran in the morning and that Sam tell the General he wasn’t interested in their offer. He also suggested that he and Ed be in the room for Sam’s conversation with Colonel Saunders.

It didn’t go to plan as they were re-upped early the following day when Team Three took a call that left half their team in the hospital. No one critical but it had been close. At some point during the day Sam took a phonecall and returned looking grim.

“The General?” Ed had asked him. Sam had merely nodded.

They pulled a double shift and, with multiple call outs,  the team went home exhausted. Sam returned to his own place to get some much needed sleep.

Greg came in early afternoon the following day, hoping to catch Holleran before their shift started to discuss Sam’s problem. He found him in his office.

He waved Greg in. “I wanted to talk to you about Sam.” Greg started to say.

Holleran held up a hand, anger darkening his normally calm face. “I’m well aware of the situation. He handed in his resignation late this morning. He’s not working his notice. Team One is a man down for the rest of the week.”

Greg felt like someone had punched him. He sat down heavily. “What? Sam’s resigned?”

It was Holleran’s turn to look confused. “He didn’t tell you? He’s re-enlisting. What a waste of three months of training.”

Greg’s thoughts were going a mile a minute trying to figure out how they’d gone from Monday’s declaration that Sam wanted nothing more than to stay in the SRU, stay with them, to his resigning Wednesday morning without even telling them.

“Here. His letter of resignation.” Holleran handed it over. “Do you want to tell me what’s going on?”

Greg related what Sam had told them, about the General putting pressure on him and Colonel Saunders' threats. Holleran looked grim. “The General can be a hard-ass, most of all towards his own son. I don’t know the Colonel, not even by reputation. Let me make some calls. What will you do in the meantime?”

“Tonight we’ll work our shift. Tomorrow we’ll track down Sam.”

***

The last thing Sam needed, arriving home at 8am after pulling a double shift, was to talk to the General. But there he was, standing outside Sam’s apartment door and there was nothing Sam could do except wish him miles away.

He’d called Sam early the previous day, pressed him for an answer and Sam told him he’d talked to his team leaders and he was staying put. This was the result, he assumed. A personal visit from the man himself.

“You’d better come in.” He said and opened the door.

“Coffee, sir?” he offered, going to the kitchen to turn on the percolator. “Black.” The General replied, taking a seat at the table.

Sam placed two cups of coffee on the table minutes later and sat down. They regarded each other silently for a moment.

“I’m sorry to have to do this Samuel. I was hoping we would get you to see sense but I hadn’t anticipated how emotionally entangled you’d gotten with those men.”

He handed a large brown envelope over. Sam took it. “What’s in it.”

“Reports. On you. And the ones who came before you. You’re not the first young Alpha they’ve done this to. They have a history.”

Sam opened the envelope and pulled out the files. There were half a dozen of them, easily. “All young Alpha’s. All placed on Team One while Gregory Parker and Edward Lane have led it. All used up and spit back out. The lucky ones managed to get transferred to other teams. The unlucky ones wound up damaged or dead; placed in dangerous situations, killed by rash judgement calls.”

Sam looked at his father in disbelief. “This can’t be true.”

“You can’t be objective on this Sam, I see that now. But the evidence is right in front of you.”

Looking from his father’s earnest face to the reports scattered on the table in front of him, Sam began to read.

***

Greg was afraid to call Ed while he was driving. Instead, he tried Sam, but the call went straight to voicemail. He left a message, asking the young man to call him back or come in to the station to see him.

He caught Ed as soon as he walked in, brought him into the briefing room, and shut the door.

“Greg, what’s going on?” Ed asked.

“Sam handed in his resignation to Commander Holleran this morning.”

“What? Why? Is he here?” Ed moved towards the door as if intent on hunting the young Alpha down right there and then.

“No, he’s gone. He’s not working out his notice either. And he’s not answering his phone.” Greg had tried twice more while waiting for Ed.

“Do you think they got to him? General Braddock or Colonel Saunders?”

“They must have. Sam spoke to the General during our shift yesterday, didn’t he? I’m guessing all that did was give them time to come up with a counter move.”

“Then we need to find him, talk to him and make him see sense.” Ed again moved to the door.

“We’re on shift Eddie, it’ll have to wait.”

“Tomorrow could be too late.” Ed said. “We’ll have to hope not.” Greg replied.

***

It was the longest shift Ed could remember. Every second seemed to tick by with agonising slowness. They’d tried ringing Sam but their calls went straight to voicemail. They got Kira to try and track his phone, but it was switched off.

As soon as their shift finished, they tried Sam’s apartment but there was no answer and a neighbour told them he’d seen Sam leave with a packed bag the previous day.

They returned to headquarters and Commander Holleran gave them their first lead or at least reason to hope they weren’t too late. “I spoke to General Braddock. He seemed reluctant to talk to me but assured me Sam was fine. I got the impression Sam was still in the country.”

It was Lou who really came through for them. “I have the number of an army buddy of Sam’s. Do you want me to call him and see if he knows where Sam might be if he was crashing someplace?" Lou seemed to be forever on the phone and when he returned, he looked troubled.

“Sam’s at his place. He said he seems pretty messed up, almost worse than he’s ever seen him but he won’t tell him what’s going on. Said Sam’s planning on flying out tomorrow so if you guys are going to talk to him, you’d better go now.” He gave them the address and they headed off.

They were both tense and tired after pulling one double and one night shift.

“I am going to shake some sense into him.” Ed said to Greg as they drove. “He should have trusted us to help him.”

“Tread easy Ed, we don’t know what they’ve been saying to him, what kind of pressure they’ve put him under.”

They knocked on the door and a dark haired man answered. “Is one of you Lou?” he asked. “No, I’m Greg, this is Ed. We’re friends of Sam’s.”

“I’m Paul. Listen, I’ll head out for a bit, give you guys some space to talk. Go easy, he’s having a rough time. He’s in the back.” Paul grabbed a jacket hanging beside the door and left, calling out as he did. “Sam, I’m heading out. You have visitors.”

They made their way to the back of the house. Sam had just gotten to his feet as they entered the room. He went pale when he saw them.

“Buddy, we are just here to talk.” Ed said.

“Get out. Now.” Sam said, anger clear on his face. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“We just want to know what’s going on Sam.” Greg said.

“I’m re-enlisting and that’s the end of it. You need to leave.”

Greg and Ed exchanged looks. They hadn’t expected to find such hostility in Sam.

“Why the sudden change of heart?” Greg wondered.

“It doesn’t matter. It’s done, I’m done. I want you to leave.” Sam was looking from one to the other, radiating anger.

“Sam.” Greg took a step forward. “Just tell us what’s happened, let us help.”

Sam took a step back, clenching his fists. Ready for a fight, Ed realised. Greg saw it too and quickly stepped back, hands raised, palms out.

“I don’t need the kind of help you’re offering.” Sam spit out.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ed asked, angry at the accusation in Sam’s tone.

“It means I know about the other Alphas. I’ve seen the reports, seen the files. You’re not better than Colonel Saunders, you’re worse. At least he’s honest about what he’s doing.”

Ed looked to Greg to see if this was making any sense to him. The older man shook his head.

“Sam, we don’t know what you’re talking about. What reports?”

“I’m not talking about this any more. You need to leave.” Sam ground out.

Ed was tired of going around in circles. “Well too bad, we’re not going anywhere.”

“Fine, you stay, I’ll go.” He went to walk past them. Ed reached out and caught his arm only for Sam to take a swing a him. Ed was prepared for that, using Sam’s momentum to knock him off balance, turning him around to push him face first against the wall and pinning his arm up behind his back.

“Let go of me!” Sam tried to push back, but Ed pushed forward, using his weight to keep Sam in place.

“Not until you talk to us.”

“There’s nothing to say. I’m not going to let you use me like you did those other Alphas.”

“What other Alphas?” Greg asked. “Sam! What other Alphas?” Greg enunciated each word carefully, moving so he could see Sam’s eyes.

“The ones in the reports. The ones you took onto your team, used up and spat out again. I’m not going to be one of them.” He said and he struggled against Ed’s arms. “Let go of me!”

“Settle down Sam.” Ed said, tightening his grip.

“Sam, we’ve trialled two other Alpha’s on the team on in the past, both for less than a month. One transferred to another team and the other to another department. No one has been ‘used up and spat out’.” Greg said.

“You’re lying. I’ve read all the reports; yours, Commander Holleran’s, the psych evals.” He answered.

“Sam, those reports weren’t real, they can’t have been.”

“You would say that, wouldn’t you? The General said you’d say that.”

“Think Sam, we’d also say the exact same if it were true, wouldn’t we?” Greg persisted.

“The General might be a bully but he wouldn’t outright lie to me. That’s not how he does things.” Sam sounded certain. Ed and Greg exchanged a worried look and at Greg’s nod, Ed released Sam’s arm, pulled back a little and let him turn around. Sam’s eyes flicked towards the door and his muscles tensed but Ed pushed him bodily against the wall again, pinning his arms. “Do not make me cuff you Sam.”

“You wouldn’t.” Sam snapped back, but there was a look of uncertainty in his eyes.

“If it’s the only way to get you to stop fighting us and start listening, then yes, I would.” He reached a hand behind his back as if going for his cuffs. Sam’s eyes widened and he tensed. “Okay, fine, I’m listening. But once you’re done talking if I tell you to leave, you leave. Agreed?” Ed could see Sam was trying to regain some control over the situation.

“Agreed.” Greg said from beside them. “Okay.” Ed said. “But only if you hear us out.”

“I’ll hear you out and then you’ll go.” Sam replied.

“Do you have copies of the files they showed you? I’d like to see them.” Greg asked.

“In the backpack on the table.” Sam said. Greg went to get them, leaving Ed holding Sam against the wall. Sam was tense and alert under Ed’s hands. Ed wanted to step back and give him some space, but didn’t trust him not to run. And if he ran now, they’d never get another chance.

Greg walked back with the bundle of files. He opened the top one and read a few lines, frowning. He flicked through a few other pages and his frown only grew. He closed the file, put it to the bottom of the pile and opened the next. He repeated this twice more, looking more and more unhappy as he read.

“Whoever did this knew what they were doing and had access to previous reports. I don’t recognise any of the reports as a whole, but the ones with my name on them use my turn of phrase, my vocabulary, my writing styles. For a ruse it’s a pretty elaborate one. Same with the psych evals, they’re very convincing. I can poke a few holes though. Dr. Luria is supposed to have written this eval here.” He held it up to show Sam. “In June of 2006. She was on a six month sabbatical that year, didn’t come back until September. And this report here that I’m supposed to have written in, in January of ‘02. When I was out for a month with a dislocated shoulder and two broken fingers. My right arm. Couldn’t have held a pen even to sign my signature.”

Sam looked unconvinced by Greg’s argument.

“Where’d your Dad get the information Sam?” Ed asked him.

“He got it from an ex-SRU officer. He didn’t give me a name but said it was someone he trusted.”

“Yeah? Well you need to go back and ask him. Find out for sure before you throw away what you’ve worked so hard for.”

There was the sound of a key in the door and all three looked towards the hallway. Sam used the distraction well, aiming a kicking at Ed’s groin that knocked Ed back a step as he tried to avoid it, then Sam pushed him hard throwing him off balance and took off towards the door.

He ran straight passed a shocked Paul, who reacted quickly, stepping in front of Ed and Greg when they tried to follow. “Let him go.”

Ed tried to push past him but he didn’t yield.

“He’s right Eddie, we need to give him some space.” Greg said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

They went back inside and Greg went back to the files. Paul followed them. “Are you going to fill me in on what’s going on?” They told him what they knew.

“Sam’s right. The General wouldn’t lie to him, wouldn’t feed him false information, at least not knowingly. He has Sam’s best interests at heart, deep down at least. He's always had.”

“Then someone else is pulling the strings here.” Ed replied. Greg was looking through the rest of the files.

“I think I have an idea who it might be.” Greg said. “Eddie, come and look at this.” He held out a file to show him, a file with Sam’s name on it. “Read the report you’re supposed to have written. Tell me who that sounds like to you.”

It was a report Ed would write for their quarterly review. A report he hadn’t yet written for Sam. “Some of these words look like mine but not others. There’s a seriously authoritative, possessive vibe coming from this.”

“Yeah.” Greg agreed. “And who in Sam’s life does that remind you of? Who has already put himself in the middle of all this?”

“Colonel Saunders.” Ed said, with a shake of his head.

“Well fuck.” was Paul’s eloquent interjection and both men turned to look at him in surprise. “Colonel Saunders is one seriously messed up Alpha Commander. If he’s got his claws in Sam, you are in for a fight.”


	8. Running Blind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a day behind in my updates, sorry about that. This chapter is extra long to make up for it, but dialogue heavy.

Sam didn’t know where he was running to, he just ran. After a few blocks, certain he wasn’t being followed, he slowed to a jog and then stopped to get his bearings. He hadn’t expected Ed and Greg to show up like that. How had they found him? It didn’t matter though, all he had to do was keep away from them until his flight the next day.

He shuddered just thinking about them. He’d read half of the reports before the sick feeling in his stomach became too much and then the General had insisted he read his own file. And then he had been sick, leaning over the kitchen sink and feeling his father’s disapproving gaze at what he’d perceive as weakness. It made him feel wretched inside to think how both men had used him and how close he’d come to sharing the fate of those other Alphas.

He decided he’d go find a cafe or a bar to hole up in for a while then he’d call Paul to make sure they were gone before he returned for his stuff. As he walked his mind was drawn back again and again to what Greg had said about the reports. Granted, he’d said exactly what Sam would have expected him to say. Only, that bit about Dr. Luria being on sabbatical was very specific and would be easy enough to verify. Parker’s injury was another thing that could be checked. And the look of desperation in Ed’s eyes as he’d pleaded with Sam to be sure; that had seemed very real.

Sam pulled his new phone from his pocket and called the General. He answered on the second ring. “Samuel, it’s good to hear from you.”

“Sir, I need to ask you a question. About the reports you showed me.” There was a pause and he sensed his father restraining a sigh of frustration. “What did you want to know?”

“Who gave them to you? Who in the SRU?”

“I told you that already. An ex-SRU officer.”

“Do you know his name? Can I talk to him?”

“I believe he was a Sergeant… Rangford. Daniel Rangford. I didn’t speak with him directly so I don’t have a contact for him. But I can assure you, the information came with the highest verification. Why? Has something happened?”

Sam briefly explained his meeting with the Alphas, leaving out the part about Ed pinning him to the wall.

“I need to speak to Sergeant Rangford, General. I need to hear it from him and if there are inconsistencies in the reports, I’d like to know why. I want to be sure.”

“And my word isn’t enough?” his father sounded disappointed. 

“It’s not that Sir, but I don’t want the names of two decorated officers blackened, even just by rumour, if it’s not the absolute truth. That… that wouldn’t be fair.”

“Alright Samuel, you’ve made your point. I’ll get in touch with my contact and see if I can put you in contact with Rangford. Until then, keep away from those SRU officers. I’m only thinking of your safety.”

“I will. Thanks Sir.” Sam said and ended the call.

He reached a cafe and went inside, ordering a coffee and taking a newspaper. He sat and pretended to read, keeping a close eye on the door but confident the Alphas wouldn’t be able to track him there.

Three slow cups of coffee later, ignoring the pretty waitress intent on flirting with him, he rang Paul. “Sam, where they hell are you? I’ve been worried sick.”

“Sorry Paul, I needed to cool off and wanted to make sure they were gone. Are they?”

“You mean Greg and Ed? Yeah, they left an hour ago. They’re really worried about you.”

“I’m sure they made it sound like that…” Sam began.

“No, man, listen. Saunders is mixed up in all of this somehow. And you know he’s all kinds of crazy. I saw those reports in your bag. Come on back and we’ll talk it over.”

“I talked to my Dad, he said the information is legitimate. It came from an old SRU Sergeant called Rangford. He’s going to put me in touch with him so I can find out the truth for myself.” Sam filled Paul in. “You’re not going to call them are you? Ed and Greg?” he added, a little worried about how convincing the men might have been.

“No, of course not. Do you want me to come and get you?” Paul asked and Sam could hear the concern in his voice.

“No, I’m not far, just at that cafe by the library. I’ll head back now. See you in twenty.” He hung up, paid for his coffee and left. He began walking down the street and a car with dark windows pulled up ahead of him. As he came alongside it, the back door opened. On alert, he took a step back. A familiar voice called out to him. 

“Samuel Braddock. I think it’s high time you and I talked.”

***

Their chat with Paul was enlightening. It was rumoured Colonel Saunders had a history very like the one he’d constructed for Greg and Ed. A habit of becoming obsessed with younger Alphas under his command and of engaging in inappropriate relationships with them. And an even vaguer rumour that he found ways to rid himself of the ones that became problems. Paul didn’t know why Saunders had focused in on Sam except that maybe Saunders didn't like that Sam had got away.

They left Paul’s place and headed to SRU headquarters. Greg wanted to talk to Commander Holleran about the files Sam had in his possession. Paul had made copies of some of the reports for them to take with them.

Holleran read through them, frowning. “These make for grim reading and whoever wrote them has clearly had access to our files in order to be able to create such realistic forgeries. Someone seems to have been very intent on manipulating Sam. Any idea who that is?”

“We suspect Colonel Saunders but the information came to Sam from General Braddock.”

“I made some enquiries about Saunders. Most people I talked to were tight-lipped and the few that were willing to talk said he has a reputation but it’s not widely known. He’s careful in his indiscretions and his unit gets results. Very few people would be willing to challenge him given that.”

Greg nodded in acknowledgement. It was nothing surprising given what Paul had told them.

“Any idea what will happen to Sam, if we don’t manage to get to the bottom of this?” Greg had a fair idea but wanted to hear it from someone else.

“He’ll rejoin the Alpha Unit most likely, probably serve at least two tours with them if he handles the pressure.”

“And if he doesn’t handle it?”

Holleran hesitated before responding. “There are rumours, Greg, but nothing more substantial than that.”

“Rumours about Saunders sending people into situations they don’t come out of.” Greg said flatly.

“As I said, nothing substantial.”

A horrible thought came into Greg’s mind. “Sam’s buddy Matt, killed by friendly fire…”

“Officially an accident but we’ll probably never know for certain.” Holleran replied, taking off his glasses and rubbing at tired eyes.

“I think you need to talk to General Braddock.” Greg said.

“I’ve tried Greg. He practically hung up on me.”

“Then I’ll try. I can’t just sit by and do nothing.” 

Greg went to find Ed who was standing in the briefing room, phone to his ear. He was talking animatedly and when he caught sight of Greg, waved him over.

“Alright Paul, I’ve got the number, we’ll see if we can trace it.”

“What’s wrong?” Greg asked as Ed hung up.

“Paul spoke to Sam over an hour ago, he told him he was on his way back and would be there in twenty minutes. He never showed up and he’s not answering his phone.”

“You got the number?”

Ed handed him a piece of paper. “I’ll get Kira to see if she can trace it.” Greg went outside to the desk and Ed followed. After Greg explained to Kira, Ed spoke again.

“Greg, Paul told me something else. He said Sam spoke to his father about the SRU contact who passed them the files. Said it was ex-SRU Sergeant, Rangford.”

“Daniel Rangford?” Greg looked up in surprise.

“I’m gonna give him a call, see if anyone’s contacted him. I can’t believe he’d have anything to do with this.” Daniel had been a long time friend and co-worker. Ed trusted him more than his own brother so Greg knew his involvement was unlikely.

“Sarge, you’re in luck. The phone has GPS and I have a trace on it.” Kira said. “It’s stationary, in an alleyway.” She gave them the address. 

“That’s close to the cafe where Paul said Sam was.” Ed said.

“Let’s head there now. Get Paul to meet us.”

***

Greg drove while Ed called Rangford.

“Danny, it’s Ed. Listen buddy, sorry to interrupt your retirement. Got a bit of a situation and your name came up. In relation to falsified SRU reports being passed around meant to suggest impropriety in the treatment of young Alpha recruits. Anything come up on your radar?”

Ed listened to Danny’s reply, unsurprised that his query stirred up little more than confusion.

“Yeah, would have been in the past few weeks most likely. Maybe as far back as three months.” When Sam had joined the SRU.

“No, nothing springing to mind? Alright, thanks Danny. One more thing, anyone from the military been in contact with you? Guy called Saunders or Braddock? Not ringing a bell? No, thanks Danny, that helps. Sorry to have troubled you.”

Ed hung up and shook his head at Greg’s questioning look. “Dead end. No ones contacted him, he knows nothing about any files. Plus, he hasn’t set foot in the station since retirement Greg, so there’s no way he pulled old files to create those false ones.”

“But someone with access has." Greg said, following Ed's line of thought. "Okay, get Holleran on the phone, put it on speaker. Let’s see if he can track down who the source of the files was. I’m pretty sure the basis for one of them was the Kroner case from two years ago. The appeal went through the courts only last month and I re-read my reports in case they called me as a witness. If we can see who checked that file out recently, it might lead us to our source.”

Ed made the call, Holleran readily agreeing to help. He made another suggestion on hearing Sam was missing. 

“Talk to the General Greg, if Sam is in some sort of trouble, he’d want to know.”

They arrived at the alleyway to find Paul already there. “No sign of Sam. His phone is here, looks like it might have been thrown from a car.”

He indicated the phone, lying against the wall near the entrance to the alleyway, screen smashed.

“Could Sam have dumped it himself?”

“Well, if he did, he wasn’t heading to my place like he’d said.”

“I’m not liking this Greg.” Ed said, taking a good look around.

“Me neither, I’m calling it in.” He took out his phone.

“We know he was at a cafe nearby, yes?” Ed asked Paul.

“Sure, he said he’d gone there to cool off.”

“Well let’s go talk to them. Paul, you come with me. Greg…”

“I’ll get someone to collect the phone, get it checked for fingerprints. I have some gloves in the car so I’ll see if it’s still working in case we can get something from it.”

Paul led the way to the cafe. “Do you have a photo of Sam?” Ed asked him.

“Sure.” He pulled out his phone. “Here’s one from our last night out.”

Ed took the phone from his hand. “Great, thanks.”

They tried the cafe staff and the patrons. A waitress confirmed Sam was there and approximately the time he left. “I went on my break and he was gone by the time I got back.”

One of the patrons outside was even more helpful. “Sure, he walked down the road a little bit and a car pulled up beside him. He got in and it idled there for a few minutes before it pulled away.”

A quick conversation confirmed it was a black sedan with dark windows and that it turned right at the junction but he couldn’t tell them a make or license plate. “Thanks for your help, Sir.” Ed said and they made their way back to Greg.

***

Ed and Paul returned as an officer arrived for the phone. Greg had had no luck getting anything from it, the screen cracked beyond use. The officer promised to rush it to the lab and get their technician to pull whatever he could off it.

Ed quickly updated him on what the cafe patron had seen. 

“So he willingly got into the car. That makes things difficult, we don’t have good cause to put out an alert. I’m calling General Braddock. Maybe Sam’s with him.”

Greg pulled out his phone and dialled the number Holleran had given him. He wasn’t looking forward to this conversation.

A curt voice answered on the second ring.

“General Braddock sir, my name is Sergeant Gregory Parker. I know I’m probably the last person you want to talk to right now, but we have a situation and we’re concerned Sam might be in trouble.”

There was a momentary silence on the other end of the line. 

“I spoke to Sam a few hours ago. He sounded fine.” The General said shortly.

“Well Sam told his friend Paul he was on the way home from a nearby cafe two hours ago and he never turned up. We tracked his phone to an alleyway nearby, looks like it was thrown from a moving vehicle and we have a witness that saw Sam get into a dark sedan. If he’s with you we’d really like to know. Paul is very concerned. We all are.”

“No, he’s not with me.” The General replied. “Do you want to tell me what’s going on Sergeant Parker.” 

“I wish we knew General. We were hoping you would know. Here’s what we do know.” He took a breath before filling the General in on what they’d learned. “Paul told us the SRU files Sam had came from Daniel Rangford, a retired Sergeant. Two problems with that. One, the reports have been falsified and we can prove it and two, Daniel Rangford knows nothing about it. Now, Sam and Paul have both assured me that that isn’t something you would do. That you don’t lie to get your way. I also know that you didn’t source the files yourself. Any idea who’s pulling the strings here General, because I suspect whoever it is is who has Sam?”

Greg gave the General a moment to digest the information.

“Colonel Saunders is a decorated officer…” He began but Greg interrupted him.

“One with a history of inappropriate behaviour towards young Alphas under his command and rumours that some of those Alphas have met undeserved fates.”

There was a long pause and Greg began to think talking to the General was becoming a waste of their time.

“Yes, Colonel Saunders gave me the files that I passed on to Sam. I called him a few hours ago after Sam asked me to put him in contact with Sergeant Rangford. Colonel Saunders said he’d handle it.” 

“Did you know he threatened Sam with a retrospective dishonourable discharge if he didn’t re-enlist?” Greg asked, wondering how much the General really knew about what Saunders was doing.

“No, of course not.” There was genuine shock in the General’s voice. “I wanted Samuel to re-enlist because I feel it’s the best choice for him, for his future. I wanted him to see that for himself but I would never have sanctioned threatening him like that. What do we do Sergeant, how do we find him?” The concern in the General’s voice was clear.

***

Every single one of Sam’s instincts told him not to get into the car but he ignored them. In a few days time, he’d be re-enlisted and under Colonel Saunders' command once more. There was no point dodging the man now, it wouldn’t make things better in the long run. 

“Your father called me. He’s concerned you’re still under the influence of those SRU Alphas. I’m concerned that even after learning the truth about them you don’t seem clear on what action you should take.”

“I’m sorry Colonel Saunders sir, I just wanted to be sure I was making the right decision.” Sam decided to play the contrite soldier until he knew where this was going.

“I understand that this isn’t easy Samuel. You’ve worked with them for months and they’re skilled at emotional manipulation. I just don’t want to see you suffer because of it.”

“I appreciate that sir and I appreciate all you’re doing for me. I have asked my father to put me in contact with the SRU officer who supplied the reports. Just so I can know once and for all.” Sam said, aware that the only way Saunders could have found him was if his father had called him right after talking to Sam.

“Your father has told you that it’s from a legitimate source and now I’m telling you. What more proof do you need?” Saunders responded, anger flashing in his eyes.

“I’d like to hear it with my own ears sir.” Sam replied. He was feeling less and less secure. At a signal from Saunders to the driver, the car, which had been stationary at the side of the road, pulled away from the kerb.

“I should call my buddy Paul, he’s expecting me back.” Sam said, taking his phone from his pocket as they turned a corner heading away from his destination.

The phone was pulled from his grasp.

“Sir, what are you…” he started to ask, as Saunders rolled down the window and tossed the phone out.

“I want your full attention Corporal.” He had it, Sam taunt and wary and watching Saunders' every move. It wasn’t atypical for Saunders, who could be prone to unpredictable behaviour when irritated.

“You want to talk to Sergeant Rangford, yes? That’ll convince you of the truth? I’ll do this one last thing for you and then you’ll agree, once and for all, to re-enlist. Do we have an understanding?”

“Yes sir.” Sam was lost as Saunders made a call, feeling the situation once again spiral out of his control. “Sergeant Rangford, I have someone who would like to talk to you. The young man I spoke to you about the other day.”

Sam took the phone. After quick introductions he asked the questions he wanted answers to. There was no hesitation in the man’s voice as he outlined what he knew, what he’d seen. It turned Sam’s stomach again and allayed any doubts he’d had. He thanked the man and hung up, handing the phone back to the Colonel.

“Satisfied?” The Colonel asked.

“Yes, thank you sir.” Sam replied, but he couldn’t rid himself of the uneasy feeling within.

“Good. Now, we’ll go to my hotel room, have something to eat and discuss your re-enlistment. There have been some changes since you left and I’d like to bring you up to speed.”

It was the last thing Sam wanted to do but he knew he had little choice at this stage. The SRU was no longer an option; he had to put it behind him and take the opportunity his father and Colonel Saunders were offering. There was nothing else to it. So why was every nerve in his body screaming at him to run?


	9. Missteps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Some mild physical violence and allusions to sexual violence. Also, somewhat haphazard proofreading.

When they got to Saunders’ hotel suite, he ordered room service for them. He then went into the bedroom to make a phone call, leaving Sam sitting at the table. He was gone for twenty minutes but to Sam it seemed like hours. 

The food arrived just as Saunders came back out. The waiter laid the plates out on the table and Saunders suggested Sam might want to use the bathroom to wash up. Sam did, if only to get away from Saunders for a few more minutes. He splashed water on his face and tried to talk himself into going back out. 

He had forgotten the sensation of feeling trapped by circumstance that had dogged his last military tour but here he was again. He considered just getting out of there, running and leaving everything behind. But it would mean losing everything; his father disowning him, his friends turning their backs. Leaving the military for the SRU had been a stress test on family relationships and he knew they wouldn’t survive anything more drastic. Without them, Sam had little to recommend him and someone like Saunders could do a lot of damage. A few words to the right people and every job Sam applied for would be out of his reach.

So he forced himself to open the door, forced himself to walk back out and take a seat at the table opposite the Colonel. This was his only chance at a future.

“Eat up.” The Colonel said with a smile and as they ate he discussed recent developments in Afghanistan. Sam carefully mirrored Saunders' pace, eating and drinking and nodding at appropriate points as he noticed Saunders paying close attention to his every move.

It was only as they finished the meal and he drained the last drop from his glass that he caught on. There was a chalky white residue at the bottom of his glass.

His heart began to race in his chest as he set the glass down, looking up to find Saunders smiling blithely at him. He felt a little light-headed. Like he’d had one too many glasses of champagne.

He tried to stand up and the room spun a bit. “Samuel. Sit down. You’re looking a little worse for wear.” Saunders spoke. Sam struggled to focus clearly on him or anything in the room for that matter. 

He wanted to get to the door, knowing now he’d made a fatal error in judgement. He staggered two steps in what he thought was the right direction before he was caught by strong arms. He tried to free himself.

“Now, now Sam. Be a good boy and do what you’re told. I had planned just to order you like before but given all that time you’ve spent with those SRU officers, I thought you might need a little assistance complying.”

He was leading Sam into the bedroom; the last place Sam wanted to go. He made another bid to free himself and managed to pull away from Saunders' grip, falling against the bedroom wall. 

“Stop it.” Saunders ordered. “I want you over on that bed, right now.”

“No.” Sam managed to get out. “I’m not under your command.”

“Semantics, Braddock, semantics. I’m not a patient man.”

Sam fought off the Colonel’s attempt to grab his arm. He was rewarded with an open handed blow to his face that knocked him back against the wall. “Do we need to go another round with a bag of soap Corporal? Or have you learnt your lesson from last time.”

Whatever Saunders had given Sam was kicking in quickly, it was harder and harder for him to focus. He couldn’t coordinate his arms to fend off Saunders grip and found himself pulled towards the bed in the centre of the room. 

Saunders pushed him backwards onto the bed, then pulled off Sam’s shoes. Sam tried to lunge for the edge of the bed but Saunders was quicker. He was yanked back to the centre and the Colonel fisted a hand in Sam’s hair then climbed onto the bed, straddling Sam’s waist. Saunders’ free hand went to his belt and Sam bucked, using all his waning strength to try and throw the Colonel off. But it was no use, the grip on his hair released and his hands were pinned to the bed above his head.

He was running out of options and out of energy. Saunders bent his head close to Sam and Sam reflexively threw his head forward, hitting hard against the Colonel’s face. The Colonel pulled back with a shout of anger and a second blow followed to Sam’s face that made his head spin more. 

The Colonel’s face was next to his again and Sam could see blood dripping from his nose. “I like some fight in my boys Sam, but you will pay for that.”

*** 

The General used every bit of influence he had to find a location for Colonel Saunders but it still took time. Meanwhile, knowing they’d need some extra pairs of hands, they called in the rest of Team One.

“Saunders doesn’t live here, does he? So he must be staying somewhere. A hotel maybe?” Jules suggested.

They asked Paul if he knew of anywhere military officers usually stayed when in town. Paul had a few ideas and they checked them out, splitting into pairs and trying each hotel on the list. It was a dead end, Saunders wasn’t staying in any of them.

Just as they ran out of ideas, General Braddock called back with a few more hotel suggestions and a more concrete lead. “There's a hotel in the south of the city. He stayed there last time he was here.”

“It’s worth a try.” Greg said, jotting down the address. “Ed and I will head there. The rest of you try the other hotels on the General’s list. Look, we don’t have a lot to go on but the aim is simple, just get Sam away from Saunders. We’ll sort the rest out later.”

Ed drove while Greg spoke to the hotel manager. As expected, he wasn’t keen to give out information over the phone. 

They arrived in record time, Ed having thrown on their lights and sirens to help speed their passage. Ed pulled up outside and they made their way to the desk. Greg wasted no time flashing his badge before holding up a picture of Sam. “Have you seen this man? He’d be in the company of a Colonel Saunders.”

The young woman at the desk looked flustered at their appearance but confirmed both men were there. “They came through reception over an hour ago.”

“What room are they in?”

“I can’t release the information without the approval of my manager.”

“Then get them out here.” Ed snapped. 

“Of course Officer.” The woman disappeared into the back office.

She returned a minute later with the manager who looked none too pleased at the interruption. “What room is Colonel Saunders staying in?” Greg asked again, showing the man his badge.

“What is all this about?” The manager started to ask.

“We need the room number and a key. Now!” Ed snapped. The manager nodded to the receptionist and she checked the computer then put a keycard into the machine and programmed it.

“Here. It’s a 4th floor suite. Room 406”

“Do you have a floorplan?” Greg asked. Despite how eager he was to get up there, he didn’t want to go in blind.

They were running up the stairs two minutes later, having radioed the rest of the team who were coming in case they needed backup.

They reached the door of the room and Greg listened. Hearing nothing, he knocked loudly. There was silence from inside.

Greg and Ed shared a look before Ed slipped the keycard into the slot. They both unholstered their weapons and Ed pushed the door open. They were greeted by an empty room, and a table laden with dishes suggesting a recently eaten meal.

The sound of a fist hitting flesh and grunt of pain disrupted the silence. 

Ed gestured to Greg and the door, and they approached, Greg breaking off to quickly clear the other side of the room. They went in on a count of three, Ed pulling the door open and Greg entering first. What they found momentarily stopped them both in their tracks. 

Saunders was straddling Sam and had him pinned to the bed.

“Police! Saunders get the hell off of him, now.”

The Colonel turned to look at them, surprised, a thin stream of blood trailing from his nose. He responded coolly to their request as if they'd interrupted a quiet conversation rather than an assault.

“Officer’s Lane and Parker I presume. Gentleman, you are disturbing a private moment between two consenting adults. I think you should leave.” 

Ed reached out and bodily pulled Saunders off Sam while Greg went to Sam. Sam’s lip was split and his cheek bruised but he seemed otherwise unhurt though he was struggling to keep his eyes open.

“Sam, can you hear me? Are you okay?” It got only the faintest acknowledgement as Sam’s head briefly turned towards Greg before his eyes drooped closed.

“He’s fine. Just tired from all the running he’d been doing to keep away from you.” Saunders said.

There was movement in the doorway and Jules and Wordy came into view.

“Wordy, take Colonel Saunders outside, get him some air. Ed, call the paramedics, we’ll need to get them both checked out. Jules, have a look around, I think Sam’s been drugged, see if you can find what with.”

Greg pulled off his glove and pressed two fingers to Sam’s neck. “Pulse is strong.”

Ed reached over and caught Sam’s chin turning it to get a good look at his face. “At least we know he fought back.” He said to Greg. “Knuckles don’t look bruised.” Greg added, as he checked Sam over.

“He might’ve used his head if his hands were pinned.”

Sam stirred beneath them. “Sam, buddy, can you hear me?” Ed asked. “Is it morning?” Sam mumbled, opening his eyes for a half second and squinting at them before closing them again.

“Boss, I’ve got something.” Jules said from the doorway. She held out a bottle. “Benzodiazepines. Looks like they were put into his drink, there’s white residue in the end of one of the glasses.”

Greg read the label on the bottle. “Alprazolam. They’re short acting so he’ll come around before too long.”

The paramedics arrived and while they checked Sam over Greg rang the General. He kept it brief, explaining what they’d found when they arrived.

“I’m relieved you found him in time. I’m with Commander Holleran, he’s going through the reports with me. What will you do with Colonel Saunders?”

“Sir, that’ll depend on Sam and whether he intends to press charges.”

“I’ll make some calls and get something sorted from the military side. We have at least enough for an investigation.” The General replied.

Ed came out to join him in the corridor. “Paramedics say Sam’s okay. They're going to take a blood sample and run it to the lab to confirm what’s in his system but they don’t need to take him in. They suggest getting him home and letting him sleep it off.” 

Some uniformed officers arrived and Greg went to talk to them. Colonel Saunders was handed over to them. “You’re making a mistake, Sergeant Parker.” Saunders warned. He seemed unperturbed by what was going on around him.

“Get him out of here.” Greg said, and went back into the bedroom to check on Sam.

Lou was with him but Sam was more asleep than awake. “I can wake him up but he drifts off after a few seconds. And he’s not coherent when he's awake.”

“Well that’s to be expected with the drugs in his system. Let’s get him out to the car.” Ed came and helped them move him. They managed to get an unprotesting Sam on his feet and got him downstairs, leaning heavily against Greg. 

“Here, give me the keys.” Lou said. “I’ll drive and you two can keep him upright.”

It took a bit of maneuvering to get Sam into the back seat. For the first few minutes of the journey he drowsed peacefully against Ed’s shoulder. But he began to come to and take notice of what was going on around him.

“What’s going on? Where’s Saunders?” he sat upright, looking around wildly.

When he caught sight of Greg, his eyes widened and he shifted away, colliding with Ed. His head whipped around and he took in the other Alpha’s presence with growing fear. 

“Sam. It’s okay. You’re safe.” Greg said.

“Where are we going? How did I get here?” he took in the car and the view out the window. “Let me out. I want to get out.” He dived across Ed towards the door. 

Ed and Greg were suddenly contending with a struggling Alpha. Between them they managed to pull him back to the middle of the car but he didn’t stop fighting them. Lou swore, slowed down, and pulled in.

“Sam, you need to calm down.” Greg said. Sam’s only response was to lunge for the door again. Thankfully his reaction time was still slowed from the drug so they were able to contain him.

He flailed wildly and his fist caught Ed on the chin. Greg wrapped his arms around Sam from behind to try and restrain him and give Ed a chance to recover from the hit. Ed shook off the blow. “Sam buddy, you need to settle down.” He reached over and caught Sam’s wrists. 

“Let me go. I want to go.” Sam only fought harder at their attempts to calm him. 

“Sam, stop struggling. I don’t want to have to cuff you.”

“Then let me go!” He pulled one hand free and lashed out again, Ed narrowly dodging Sam’s fist.

“Eddie, he’s not tracking this conversation.” Greg said. “Get the cuffs on him, we’ll take them off as soon as he settles.”

Greg helped hold Sam’s arms while Ed pulled a pair of cuffs from his pocket. Sam didn’t even seem to register the metal encircling his wrists, as his head dropped again and his eyes closed. 

“Should I…” Ed asked, as it became apparent he was asleep again. “Leave them on, if he’d gone for Lou instead of the door, we’d be in a lot more trouble. Let’s belt him in as well.”

Once Sam was secure, they got back on the road.


	10. Unravelling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know what's a bad plan when you're writing a story? Forgetting it's actually a prequel. Not that I did that or anything. *whistles innocently*

Sam’s eyes opened to a world of confusion. His body felt heavy, his wrists weighed down. As his eyes focused, he discovered why. Handcuffs encircled his wrists. His heart began to thump wildly in his chest. He’d never fight Saunders off cuffed like this. Closing his eyes he forced himself to think, to try and get his bearings. He remembered going to the hotel room, remembered the moment he realised Saunders had drugged him. Then… nothing.

He tried to catalogue the sensations in his body. There were a few aches and pains, his face especially, but nothing that answered his question as to how far Saunders had managed to go. Hearing the murmur of voices above his head, he forced himself not to react and tried to focus on the words.

“Let’s just get him inside and we can talk about what to do from there.” Greg’s voice, and Ed’s.

He felt the deceleration as the vehicle they were in braked and turned a corner. Car. He remembered being in a car. And they’d cuffed him. Fuck.

“Should we try and wake him before we move him? Maybe take the cuffs off?” That was Lou.

“He’s already awake.” Said Ed's voice close to his ear. “Isn’t that right Sam?”

He opened his eyes and lifted his head, taking in the scene around him. He’d expected to find himself at Greg and Ed’s place. But they were outside Paul’s apartment. He knew all too well that Alphas could be territorial. Were they pissed he’d gone to Paul’s place? What had they done to Saunders?

“Sam, are you with us?” Greg asked. He didn’t answer. He had nothing to say to them.

“Okay, you’ve still got a heap of xanax in your system, you need to sleep it off. You kicked off in the car on the way back, we cuffed you for your own safety, as well as ours. As soon as we’re sure you’re not a danger to yourself or us, we’ll take them off.”

They got him out of the car and walked him to the door. Lou had keys. How did he have keys? Then they were inside, Greg walking ahead of them, Ed escorting Sam.

Things were going fuzzy around the edges again as they led him into Paul’s bedroom. Sam had been sleeping on the couch while he'd been staying there but now Ed was leading him towards the bed. He looked around. Greg was there but Lou hadn’t followed them. And Paul was nowhere to be seen.

Ed pushed him to sit on the bed, hands on his shoulders. He flashed back to Saunders, especially when Ed bent down to pull off his shoes. The room spun a little and the odds didn’t look good. Two on one and his hands were bound. But they were no different to Saunders and he wouldn’t go down without a fight this time either.

He lashed out with his cuffed hands and caught Ed with a blow to the side of the head. He bent his knee to aim a kick but Ed recovered quicker than he’d expected and threw himself on top of Sam. Sam struggled to get his arms free, to get Ed off of him, but his strength was sapped and Ed had the upper hand. Within seconds his hands were pinned above his head.

“Don’t do this. Please.” Sam spoke with quiet defeat, his eyes closed, tension leaking from his muscles.

“Not a chance Sam, not a chance.” Ed’s voice spoke inches from his ear. “I am _nothing_ like Saunders.” And the the weight on top of him disappeared. There was a muddle of sounds before a third voice spoke.

“Sam, it’s Lou. Can you open your eyes for me.” He did, surprised to find Lou standing beside the bed and not Ed. He looked around but there was no one else there.

“Sam, I’m going to take these off now. Okay?” Lou reached for the cuffs and Sam let him. “Your Dad’s on the way, with Paul. They’ll be here soon and this will all seem a lot clearer. I’ll stay with you until they get here. You might want to try and get some sleep.”

His hands were finally free but he was bone tired and even lifting his head was an effort. He flopped back down on the bed and let his eyes close.

***

Ed was pacing back and forth across Paul’s living room. “That’s not helping and you’ll wear a hole in Paul’s carpet.” Greg said after five minutes of watching him.

“He..” Ed started to say.

“Sam’s been drugged, assaulted and manipulated. He doesn’t know if he’s coming or going and we’ve been very clearly painted as the bad guys in all of this. His reaction was not a reflection on either of us.” Greg interrupted whatever Ed was going to say.

“How’s your head?” There was a small cut and the start of a bruise where Sam’s cuffs had caught the side of Ed’s head, not to mention the swelling on Ed’s jaw from Sam’s punch in the car.

“It’s fine. Despite everything, he’d a pretty good aim.”

“He’s been well trained.” Greg agreed. “Keeps a cool head under pressure.”

There was a knock on the door and Greg went to answer, Ed staying to keep watch by the bedroom door.

Greg returned followed by Paul, Commander Holleran and an imposing man in uniform.

“General Braddock, this is Constable Ed Lane.”

They shook hands and the five men stood looking at one another for a moment.

“Where is Samuel?” The General asked.

“He’s in the bedroom, sleeping we hope. Our teammate Lewis is with him.” Greg answered and Paul disappeared to check on him. “We had some trouble getting him back here, he tried to jump out of the car while we were driving and we were forced to cuff him. Understandably he didn’t react very well.”

The General looked grim.

“Commander Holleran went through all the reports with me, I’m happy that they are indeed false given the sheer number of inconsistencies.” The General said. Greg guessed that was the closest they were going to get to an apology.

Commander Holleran updated them on the investigation.

“We tracked down an auditor for the department who accessed a number of SRU files about five weeks ago. A phone call to his supervisor told us the auditor in question was in Mexico on his honeymoon at the time and unlikely to have been trawling through our archives. We haven’t determined the identity of his impersonator yet.”

“We need to go through our security procedures with a fine tooth comb. How does someone manage to get that kind of access?” Ed said.

“Power and money opens many doors.” The General said by way of an answer.

***

Sam woke confused, tired and lost. Had he let Paul talk him into drinking shots again? Then it came back to him. Saunders. The hotel room. Greg and Ed

Someone moved in his peripheral vision and Sam struggled to get his hands under him, trying to focus on the shadow that moved towards him. “Stay away from me.” He managed to get out.

“Sam, buddy, it’s just me.” Sam relaxed. He knew that voice. “Paul?”

“Yeah. Here, have some water.” Paul put a cup in Sam’s hand and helped him guide it to his mouth. Sam, mouth dry as a desert, gulped down the cool liquid gratefully.

He sat up a bit straighter before letting his head fall into his hands as a wave of dizziness overtook him. “Lou?”

“He’s outside in the living room with everyone else. Do you feel up to joining them?”

“Who’s everyone else?” Sam asked, rubbing a hand across his face.

“Your father, Commander Holleran, Ed and Greg.”

“The General’s here?” Sam looked up in surprise.

***

The door opened and Paul walked in, followed by a barefoot Sam. Sam took stock of the room. “Here, go sit.” Paul nudged him towards the couch where Lou was sitting. Sam took a seat beside him while Paul disappeared into the small kitchen. He returned after a minute with a bag of frozen peas which he handed to Sam, then sat on the arm of the couch next to him. Sam gingerly held the bag against his face.

“Samuel, I’m glad to see you’re alright.” The General said.

“I’m fine.” Sam replied. “Where’s Saunders?”

“He’s down at the local precinct, they’re holding him for the moment.” Greg replied.

“You arrested him?” the accusation was clear in Sam’s tone.

“Sam, I don’t know how much you remember about what happened…”

“You arrested my Commander. You need to let him go. Now.” Sam shifted, sitting forward, making eye contact with Commander Holleran.

“Son, Saunders assaulted you…”

“You weren’t there. All you have to go on is their word…” he pointed at Greg and Ed. “I’m re-enlisting tomorrow. They’re trying to ruin that.”

Sam let the bag fall, got to his feet and made a beeline for the door. Greg was nearest the door and moved to block his path. “Slow down Sam, you need to hear us out.”

“I don’t need to hear anything you have to say.” He tried to push past Greg and when the older man grabbed his shoulders, struggled to break his hold. “Let go of me.”

“Sam, we can’t let you run. You’re not in any fit state to be out on the streets. You're not even wearing shoes.”

“Sam?” Paul’s voice came closer and a hand rested on his shoulder. “Come on buddy, sit back down.” Paul led him back to the couch, and handed him the peas again. The silence was broken by the General’s voice.

“Samuel, I’m sorry for my part in all this.”

Surprised at hearing an apology on his father’s lips, Sam’s anger faded and he turned to hear his father speak. “I wanted what I thought was best for you and I thought that was the army. I felt you’d learn that in your own time but then Colonel Saunders contacted me, telling me how invaluable you’d be to his unit. He made a persuasive argument. I didn’t know he’d threatened you with a dishonourable discharge.”

The General paused for a moment, turning to look at the SRU officers. “When our first attempt didn’t work he contacted me again and showed me the reports. He said he hadn’t told me about them originally because he hadn’t wanted to cause a scandal or tarnish any reputations. He was very convincing, I never suspected that they were a fabrication.”

He turned back to Sam. “But they are Samuel. An elaborate fabrication but a fabrication nonetheless. Commander Holleran has gone through them in detail and proved to me that there’s no truth in them.” His words carried weight.

Sam spoke up. “But I talked to Daniel Rangford. He confirmed everything.”

There was a moment of confusion in the room. “I met Rangford in person a few hours ago Samuel. He had no idea about any of it. Whoever you spoke to, it wasn’t him.” The General said carefully. Sam could only stare at this father while he tried to process this information.

“So… Saunders set this whole thing up? Why?”

It was Paul who answered. “He has a reputation Sam. He’s known for taking a special interest in young Alphas. And they don’t all survive it.”

“You mean the stuff he said Greg and Ed were doing is really what he’s done?” Sam was carefully not looking at the two men as he slowly came to a realisation about all that had happened over the past few days.

“That’s what it's looking like at this point Samuel. I’ve made a few calls, there will probably be an internal investigation.” General Braddock said.

Sam was clambering to his feet again, dropping the bag of peas to the floor. “I can’t listen to any more of this.” He caught sight of Ed and the bruises on his face and blanched. “Sam?” Ed stood.

“Don’t.” Sam said, holding up his hand as if to ward Ed off.

“Sam, none of this is your fault. Saunders put a lot of effort into convincing you what he was saying was true, backed you into a corner and made it seem like his way was the only way out.” Greg had stood as well and took a few steps towards Sam.

“I can’t deal with this now.” Sam’s head was spinning again and it wasn’t just the drugs. He walked back into Paul’s bedroom, closed the door behind him and moved to lie on the bed. Sleep wasn’t long in coming and he didn’t fight it.


	11. Shattered

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're nearing the end but I've an exam coming up so please anticipate a decrease in posting frequency for the remaining chapters.

Sam didn’t wake again until the following morning. He found Paul sitting in the kitchen.

“You look like hell.” He commented blithely when Sam stumbled from the bedroom. “Here, have coffee.” He poured Sam a cup and left it on the counter. Sam sat down beside him.

“I know you’re probably wishing the last week was a bad dream but the sooner you pull it together, the sooner you’ll get this sorted.”

Sam’s response was a snort. “What’s left to sort? I’ve resigned from the SRU and there’s no way I can re-enlist now. No one’s going to want to work with me once they connect the dots between me and Saunders.”

Paul set his cup down and regarded his defeated friend. Sam caught the look and spoke before Paul could.

“Look man, I appreciate you taking me in but I think I need to get out of town for a bit. I’ll be out of your hair soon.”

“Yeah, because running away has always been a great plan.” Paul retorted.

“What’s there to stay for? I think I’ve burned all my bridges.”

“You might want to talk to Ed and Greg before you take off. And then there's the General. He’ll be here soon.”

Sam groaned. “He’s the last person I want to see.”

“I don’t blame you but the sooner you face him and get this over with, the better. So go take a shower, shave, put on some clean clothes and give yourself a chance to feel like a normal human being.”

***

Sam was feeling marginally more himself by the time he faced the General.

“Samuel, you’re looking more alert.”

“Yeah, well that’s not hard to pull off when you haven’t been drugged.” Sam replied, not hiding the anger in his voice.

“You’re angry, of course. I understand that.”

“Yeah, you can understand that but not that I wanted out of the military or that I was happy with the SRU. And now that’s all ruined and I’m out of options.”

The General looked visibly uncomfortable. “I only wanted what’s best for you.”

“But you knew, right? About Saunders. About what he did to me, to others.”

The General couldn’t meet Sam’s eyes. “We’ve all made sacrifices for the good of our unit.”

“And what he did to me after Matt died? Does the good of the unit stretch to cover that?” Sam replied bitterly.

“There’s an investigation under way. The Colonel is on leave pending its outcome. Matthew’s death is one of the incidents under review.”

“Matt’s _death_? Why?” Sam’s mind was slow to grasp the General's inference. “They… they think he...” Sam paled, feeling the bile rise in his throat and he ran to the bathroom. He threw up, stomach heaving, as understanding dawned.

He heard footsteps behind him and turned to see his father standing in the doorway, a glass of water in his hand which he held out towards Sam. When Sam didn’t reach for it, he set it down carefully next to him.

“I’ve spoken with Commander Holleran. He is happy to overlook your resignation given the circumstances and reinstate you to your team.”

Sam laughed bitterly at the General’s peace offering. “Right. Because that would work, me rejoining a team where I’d accused my superiors of…”

His stomach heaved again. When it settled, he turned back to the General who was still standing awkwardly beside the door. He’d rarely seen his father discomfited. It was almost amusing. He’d have given a lot at that moment for a different father. One who would actually try to comfort him rather than offer platitudes.

“What can I do, Samuel?” he asked, “How can I make this right?”

“I think it’s too late for that, Sir. I'm going to get out of town for a bit, get some breathing room.”

“Well don’t make any hasty decisions. And talk to Sergeant Parker and Constable Lane. They went to a lot of trouble to ensure your safety.”

Sam rinsed his mouth out with the water. “Yeah and I repaid them by assaulting my team leader.”

“You’d been drugged. No one blames you.”

“What happened that made you include Matt's death in the investigation into Saunders?” Sam asked, changing the subject.

“He had made a complaint against Saunders shortly before his death.”

Sam walked past the General, back into the living room and sat down heavily on the couch. The General followed him.

“Are you saying Saunders set the whole thing up? Arranged for Matt to be there, so I’d shoot him and he’d use that to manipulating me into replacing him?” The full horror of what might have happened was only just coalescing in Sam’s mind.

“The truth is we don’t yet know the answer to those questions. We may never know the full extent of what Saunders has done.”

“And Saunders? What happens to him?”

“That will depend on the outcome of the investigation. If we can prove any of the charges relating to the deaths of those young Alphas then he’ll be imprisoned. Otherwise it may lead to a dishonourable discharge.”

“Or he might just continue on as before.” Sam added, knowing how much resistance there would be to a witch hunt against someone like Colonel Saunders.

“That won’t happen Samuel. I give you my word.”

Sam didn’t respond, unsure whether his father’s word counted for much anymore.

“I’m going to go now. I have an appointment I need to keep. But there is one more thing we need to discuss.”

“What’s that, Sir?”

“Saunder’s arrest. He’s been released on bail. There are charges pending against him but they’re unlikely to take him to court without your testimony. A court case like that will gain a lot of attention; from the media, from the military. It won’t be something we can keep quiet.”

“You don’t want me to make a statement.” Sam said.

“It would reflect badly.”

“On who? You? The family name?”

Sam stood up, voice rising. “That’s why you’re here isn’t it? All this bullshit about checking on me, making sure I’m okay, but you’re really here for you. Because you can’t control a police investigation; no way to keep the Braddock name out of that. But a military one? You can be sure there’ll be no besmirching of the family name, no hint that we’re anything but the perfect soldiers.”

“Samuel, son, that isn’t…”

“I’ve heard enough. Get out, General, and don’t come back.”

“Don’t take that tone with me.” The General stood up.

“Or what? You’ll reprimand me? Haul me up on charges? Beat the crap out of me? What can you do that hasn’t already been done? What can you do that’s worse than arrange for me to kill my best friend then use the aftermath of it to manipulate me? I’m done with this. Get out.”

The General took a step forward, squaring up to him. For one second Sam thought he’d gone too far and misjudged the situation. He anticipated the need to dodge the General’s angry fist. But the man got control of himself, stepped backward and around Sam, striding towards the front door. He didn’t pause or look back.

Sam, shaking with adrenaline, lowered himself slowly to sit back down.

Paul found him still sitting there an hour later. “How did it go?”

“About as well as expected.” Sam replied. “Saunders… Saunders is more than messed up. They think he arranged Matt’s death and used it to…” he trailed off, knowing Paul didn’t know the full story of what had happened with Saunders. Paul thankfully gave him an out and changed the subject.

“Are you still planning to get out of town?”

“Yeah. I’ll leave tomorrow morning. Take some time to get my head on straight.”

“Okay, well I’ve organised a little impromptu send off for you tonight. Just a few of the guys, beer and loud music. It'll take your mind off things. I guarantee you’ll get a good night’s sleep afterwards.”

Sam tried a half-hearted protest, but after everything Paul had done for him he couldn’t refuse him this small request.

***

Sam wasn’t feeling it. He’d nursed the same beer for two hours as the guys talked and joked but he struggled to join in. He needed to get out of there.

He stayed until just before midnight. Most of the guys were on the dance floor by that point and he could see two or three who’d be going home with someone else that night. He leaned over to talk to Paul.

“I’m gonna go, head back to my apartment and pack so I can leave first thing.”

“Are you sure?” Paul shouted to be heard over the noise. “Yeah man, I’m not really feeling this.”

Paul nodded in understanding. “You need to call to the SRU on your way out of town. Greg and Ed are expecting you to drop by.”

Sam gave Paul a look. “You told them I was leaving?”

“Well I knew you weren’t going to. You owe it to them to at least say goodbye. If they hadn’t gone after you, you’d be Alpha bonded to Saunders and halfway across the world by now, trapped with that bastard for the next two years.”

When he put it like that, yeah, it looked pretty bad that he was just going to walk away.

“They don’t want to see me, not after everything I’ve put them through, what I accused them of.” Sam just couldn't get past that.

“Don’t underestimate them Sammy.” Paul stood as Sam did and pulled him into a quick embrace, patting him on the shoulder. “Good luck, don’t be a stranger. I worry when I don’t hear from you.”

“I’ll stay in touch. I promise.” Sam said, then headed for the door.

He stepped out into a deluge of rain and jogged to his bike. Halfway home, the rain showing no sign of stopping, he changed direction abruptly. The idea of having to wait until the following morning to go to the SRU to face Greg and Ed was just too much.

It was close to 1am when he pulled up across the street. Their house was in darkness. He got off his bike, crossed the street and walked towards the door. He froze halfway up the driveway. Rain still poured from the sky and he was drenched to the skin, the raindrops mingling with tears on his face. What was he doing? If they weren’t going to be pleased to see him the next morning, they certainly weren’t going to be happy with him turning up at 1am.

Finally knowing that he couldn’t face them, he patted his pockets, pulling out a pen and a receipt. He moved to the door and used the shelter of the doorway to lean against the wall while he wrote his short message. He pushed it through the letterbox before he could have second thoughts, then walked back down the driveway and crossed the street to his bike. As he did a car pulled into the road, briefly lighting up the scene. He ignored it, knowing a guy on a motorbike in the rain wasn’t likely to draw too much attention, even at 1am.

The rain fell harder still, drowning out any noise. He reached for his helmet, his movements lethargic. Part of him didn’t want to walk away but a bigger part of him knew there wasn’t any other option.

As he lifted his helmet, he thought he heard a voice. He paused, hearing it again, more clearly now over the rain. “Sam?”

He turned to see Ed standing a few feet away, and caught sight of Greg’s car across the street pulled into their driveway, lights on.

“What are you doing here?” Ed asked, as he moved closer. He seemed oblivious to the rain, the streetlight illuminating his imposing form.

“I was just leaving.” Sam replied, unable to meet Ed’s eyes.

“Come inside.” Ed said.

“I just came to leave a note. I’m leaving town in the morning. I need to get going.”

“Inside, now.” Ed’s tone brooked no disagreement and he turned and crossed back towards the house. Sam followed, feet heavy, heart pounding.

Greg had the car in the garage and the front door open. He stepped back to let the men enter. He had Sam’s note in his hand. Sam couldn’t meet anyone's eyes.

“You’re soaked to the skin.” Greg said. “How long have you been out there?” Sam didn’t reply.

“What’s the note say?” Ed asked. “Thank you. I’m sorry. There’s nothing more to say. Sam.” Greg read out, voice flat.

“I should go.” Sam took two steps towards the door but Ed blocked his path. “Give me your keys.”

Sam tried to move around him to get to the door but Ed was faster and Sam found himself pinned to the wall by the older man. His heart thudded in his chest. Ed patted him down then slid a hand into Sam’s pocket and pulled out his keys. “I’ll put your bike in the garage.” He pushed away from Sam and disappeared out the door into the night.

That left Sam alone with Greg. He looked Sam up and down. “Stay here while I get some towels.” He walked upstairs and Sam found himself alone in their hall as the minutes ticked past.

Greg returned, a stack of towels in his arms as Ed came back inside, closing the front door behind him. The sound of the door closing brought Sam to his senses. He needed to get out of there. He was in no fit state to tie his shoelaces let alone hold a conversation. But he turned to see Ed leaning back against the door, arms crossed.

Sam could see the shadow of a bruise on his chin and the healing cut on the side of his head. He couldn’t blame Ed for looking pissed. “You might not have anything more to say Sam. But we do.”

Sam’s reaction to being trapped was instinctive, body tensing, hands curling into fists. “Get out of my way.”

“Not a chance Sam.” Ed said, and Sam flashed back to Ed pinning him down on the bed. He took a step forward, fists raised, and hands wrapped around him from behind. He struggled to break free.

“Calm it down Sam, calm it right down.” Greg’s voice in his ear. Ed moved toward them. “Don’t run from us Sam. If you start running now, you’ll never stop.” He held Sam’s gaze and Sam felt the tension slowly fall away.


	12. ... together again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is part of a line from the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty. It seemed oddly apt.

At some point Greg’s hands moved from restraining Sam to holding him but he barely noticed the transition. Ed was standing right in front of him and reached a hand to Sam’s face. Sam tensed, eyes closing, but Ed’s touch was gentle, his fingers ghosting over the cuts and bruises left by Saunders.

Sam shivered, and it was more than the cold and wet. Days ago he’d been confident that he wanted more from these men, wanted a relationship, and now he was afraid even a gentle touch was too much to ask for. He didn’t open his eyes, not ready to face them.

Greg’s hands released him all of a sudden and he was momentarily bereft of their touch. He shivered again as the adrenaline wore off and he realised how cold he really was. A third shiver wracked his body and he wrapped his arms around himself.

“Sam?” He opened his eyes at the sound of his name but couldn’t meet Ed’s gaze. A sound that might have been a sob escaped him before he clamped down hard on his emotions. He felt every inch of how pathetic he was right that second, standing dripping wet in their hall at 1am. What must they think of him?

***

Greg moved next to Ed. Sam looked much younger than his years standing before them, arms wrapped around him, water trailing down his skin and shivers wracking his body. Not just water, he realised. Tears too. His eyes were open but he wasn’t looking at them.

It was clear the fight or flight response had spent itself and the aggression had gone out of him, leaving him tired and wavering on his feet.

Ed reached for him again, cupping his face and Sam didn’t resist the contact. “You’re ice cold.” 

“Let’s get him into the shower to warm up.” Greg suggested. Ed herded an unprotesting Sam upstairs and into the bathroom. Greg followed them. Ed turned the shower on and steam began to fill the room. 

When Sam didn’t move, Greg folded his arms and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. It was enough to spur Sam into action and he started unbuttoning his shirt or tried to at least. His hands were wet and cold and it took him an age to get the first two undone. Sighing, Greg closed the distance between them, pushed Sam’s hands out of the way and took over. 

***

Sam let his cold, useless hands fall to his sides as Greg unbuttoned his shirt. Ed walked back in behind them carrying towels and Greg said something over his shoulder that Sam didn’t quite catch. He didn’t catch Ed’s reply either as he was turned around and Greg peeled his soaked shirt from his shoulders.

With a little prompting from Greg, Sam pulled off his shoes and socks, followed by his pants and boxers. He had a brief flash of fear when a hand touched his shoulder, but it was just Greg, voice gentle, guiding him towards the shower. 

The warm spray of water was almost too hot on his chilled skin and he stepped back abruptly, colliding with Greg’s chest. Greg held him steady while he reached for the temperature dial and turned it down a little, then nudged Sam back under the water. The water no longer scalded but it was uncomfortably hot on his skin. He didn’t protest though, feeling the discomfort was deserved.

He turned to see Ed pulling off his own soaked clothing. Greg was still dressed but wearing a shirt covered with damp patches from where he’d held Sam. The shower was big enough for two of them, three if they didn’t mind being close. 

Ed wasted no time following Sam in and pushed him so his back was flat against the cold tiles. Sam bit his lip and didn’t voice a protest as Ed ran light, impersonal hands down Sam’s body, scanning him head to toe with his eyes. He fingered every mark on Sam’s face, the bruises on his arms, the marks from the cuffs and the faint bruising on his abdomen and shin. When he stood, his eyes were flashing with anger and Sam found himself turned to face the wall. He let his forehead rest against the tiles and tried not to tense as Ed repeated his check for injuries along his back and legs. Ed pulled away then but leaned back in to place a kiss on Sam’s shoulder.

He turned Sam around again and Sam caught sight of Greg as he entered and shut the shower door behind him. Ed drew Sam around so that he was between them, his back to Ed’s chest and facing Greg.

Ed went through a quiet catalogue of Sam’s injuries for the older man, pointing out each one in turn and Greg traced them with his hands, frowning.

“Sam?” Greg’s voice pulled him from the hazy drowsiness of the shower's warmth. “Did he hurt you anywhere else, do anything we can’t see?” Ed’s hands on him tightened at the question.

Sam blushed, knowing what they were asking, but shook his head. “No, you guys got there before he had the chance.” He felt the relief from the two men at his words and Ed relaxed his grip. 

“You fought him off pretty hard, despite the sedative in your system.” Ed said and Sam could hear the pride in his voice. Sam turned around so he could see Ed’s face. “I’m sorry for…” he couldn’t get the words out but gestured towards Ed’s face and the bruises there.

The warmth didn’t leave Ed’s eyes. He took Sam’s hand in his and brought it to his forehead, guiding it over the cut and bruised skin. “It’ll mend. No apologies” he added, using his other hand to press a soft finger to Sam’s lips.

The heat from the shower had finally seeped into Sam’s cold skin. He was pulled into Ed’s arms and Greg pressed close to his back. It was a little suffocating and he tensed between them. Both men pulled back, giving him space and he knew there was silent communication going on between them. “Let’s get you out and dried off.” Greg said, hands on Sam’s shoulders again.

It was like the night they brought him home after the scorpio shot but this time, when he tried to reach for the towel to dry himself off, his hands were redirected. “Just relax and let us do this.” Greg said.

He was dried off with gentle hands, towels soft against his skin. Ed turned Sam’s head away to the side and leaned in to lick a line of droplets off Sam’s face. Sam jerked in surprise and regarded Ed with wide eyes. Ed’s gaze was predatory, possessive. Sam didn’t protest as Ed moved behind him, licking a line along Sam’s shoulder, then, without warning, he clamped his mouth down and sucked. Sam gasped at the sensation. 

Greg moved until he was face to face with Sam. He held eye contact for a long moment then brought his head close to Sam’s, his mouth on Sam’s neck. He ran his tongue downward, along Sam’s collar bone, following Ed’s lead, finding a sensitive spot and sucking and biting at it. 

Ed let go of Sam’s shoulder and leaned over to whisper in his ear. “We want exactly what we wanted a week ago Sam. You, right here with us.” Then placed a kiss on the sensitive skin behind his ear. They were doing the possessive thing again, hands and mouths on him and it was impossible for Sam to think straight. He wondered if maybe that was the point.

The air in the bathroom was cooling rapidly and he was bundled into towels and lead to the master bedroom. Greg handed him clothes to sleep in and he pulled them on.

“Time to get some sleep Sam.” Greg said, adding “You can have the guest room if you’d like but we’d rather you here with us.” 

Ed was less compromising. “We’re sleeping wherever you are tonight. So how about we all have a comfortable night’s sleep in this bed rather than us all cramped into the guest room.” He stood there, arms folded, waiting for Sam’s response.

Sam held up his hands in mock surrender. “Okay, okay.” He got in, unsurprised to find himself herded into the centre between Ed and Greg. They didn’t crowd him though, leaving space between them. 

Sam was so tired that his eyes were closing minutes after his head touched the pillow. He slept and he dreamed. In his dream he was back in Afghanistan, taking out targets, four of them. Only when they went to make the IDs, it was Paul, Lou, Greg and Ed. He was screaming and shouting, asking how it could have happened. His father’s hand was on his shoulder, intoning about how important it was to uphold the honour of the family name. Then his father was gone, Colonel Saunders in his place, ordering Sam to his hands and knees as he unbuckled his belt. He awoke with a start as Saunders’ hand touched his hip.

“Sam?” A voice whispered. He turned his head and could just make out Greg beside him on the bed. He realised the hand on his hip was Ed’s, the Alpha sleeping soundly beside him.

“Sorry if I woke you. It was just a nightmare.” he whispered back. He wasn’t surprised when Greg moved closer, pulling him into a warm embrace.

“Want to talk about it?” He asked. Sam shook his head against the older Alpha’s chest. “Alright, try and get some more sleep. Things will seem clearer in the morning.”

"Yeah, they will. Go on back to sleep Sam, we've got your back" Ed added sleepily over Sam's shoulder and his hand rubbed gentle circles on Sam's back. Sam slowly drifted back to sleep.


	13. Perspective

Ed’s hand was still resting on Sam’s back when he woke the next morning. For a moment he forgot that anything had changed then the events of the previous few days flooded his mind and he let his head fall back down on the pillow. Maybe if he closed his eyes and never opened them ever again, it would all go away?

An alarm beeped from nearby and the other two men stirred. It was Greg who reached over to switch it off, then stretched his arms above his head. “Morning.” he said, sounding cheerful.

“Five more minutes.” Ed said sleepily. “Do I need a bucket of cold water?” Greg replied playfully.

Ed’s hand moved then, slipping under Sam’s shirt to trail cool fingers up Sam’s back and Sam shivered a little under the tickling touch. “That depends on Sam.” He answered. “You up?” he added. Sam turned his head to look at Ed, who grimaced. “I keep forgetting how bad your face looks.” He reached his free hand over but Sam buried his head back in the pillow. “Come on now, who are you hiding from?” Ed asked, voice low.

Sighing, Sam turned to face him, not resisting when Ed’s hand reached for him again. He trailed his thumb along Sam’s lip, then reached in to kiss him. Sam turned his head away abruptly and it was Ed’s turn to sigh as he let his hand fall away. “Sorry Sam, I didn’t mean to push.”

He got out of bed and walked out the door. Sam sat up, watching him leave, unsure what to do. The bathroom door banged shut moments later.

“It’s okay Sam. We’re all a bit off balance by what’s happened.” Greg reassured. “Team One are on standby today, so we’ll have time to talk this through. No pressure.” He added catching the expression on Sam’s face.

“I’ll go put some coffee on.” Greg said when Sam didn’t reply.

Sam was left alone in their bed. He heard the sound of the shower turn on and decided the least he could do was try to make amends. He knocked on the bathroom door before sticking his head in. He could make out Ed’s form in the shower. Feeling foolish, he approached and knocked on the shower door.

Ed opened it with a bemused look on his face. “You’re a bit overdressed.” He said, looking Sam up and down. Sam shucked off his t-shirt and shorts and Ed moved back to let him in.

A bar of soap was thrust into his hands before Ed turned his back to continue washing. Sam could see the tension in Ed’s shoulders. He soaped up his hands and reached out to touch Ed’s back. Ed tensed further at the first touch before his shoulders slumped. Taking that as permission, Sam placed his other hand on Ed’s back and moved both in wide circles across the smooth skin. He brought his hands higher to Ed’s shoulders, feeling the tension there, and pressed in harder with thumbs and fingers. Ed groaned under Sam’s hands before the tension eased and he relaxed. Then he crossed his arms reaching up to still Sam’s hands where they rested on his shoulders.

Ed let go and turned to face him. Sam reached out again, trailing hands down Ed’s chest and moved his mouth to press kisses along the wet skin down to his stomach. Then he dropped to his knees in front of the older Alpha, the only thought in his head being to make up for everything he’d put them through the past few days.

A second later there were hands under his arms and he was yanked to his feet. Ed reached past him to open the shower door and pushed him bodily out. “Ed, what…?” Sam tried to ask.

Ed followed him out, pushing past him to grab a towel. He threw it at Sam before grabbing one for himself and stalking out of the room.

Sam watched him go, trying to work out how he’d managed to make things worse.

***

Ed went through the motions, drying off and getting dressed, putting his anger into every movement. Sam was all over the place. One moment pulling away from a kiss the next… he shook his head to rid himself of the image. Sam thought he was angry with him and was overcompensating trying to make it better.

The door opened and he turned to see Greg. “I made some coffee. Where’s Sam?”

“In the bathroom.” He told Greg what happened, not keeping the anger from his voice.

“Go downstairs, cool off. I’ll handle Sam, we’ll be down in a bit.”

Reluctantly Ed did as Greg had asked. He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat at the kitchen table.

***

Greg knocked on the bathroom door. When he got no reply, he poked his head in. Sam stood, towel in hand, looking lost.

When Greg stepped into the room, he spoke. “I messed up.”

He looked young and vulnerable, which wasn’t at all the image the capable young soldier normally projected. He could see why Ed was so angry. Saunders had really done a number on him, mentally much more than physically.

“It’s okay Sam. Ed’s downstairs. How about we get you dried off and dressed, then we can go down and all three of us can talk. Stay here, I’ll go get you something to wear. There’s still some of your clothes here.”

He went into the room Sam had been keeping his stuff in, the one they’d planned on giving him when he moved in permanently. He heard the creak of a floorboard and looked up to see Sam, towel wrapped around his waist.

“Here.” He held out some clothes. Sam took them, laid them on the bed and dropped the towel to dress. Then he turned back to Greg. “What now?”

“Breakfast.” Greg said and gestured for Sam to lead the way. They went downstairs. Sam took two steps into the kitchen and paused. Greg brushed past him.

Ed was sitting at the table, facing away from the door. He spoke over his shoulder. “I’m not gonna bite Sam, come on in and sit down.” Greg realised Ed could see Sam’s reflection in the window. Sam, head down, approached the table and took the seat next to Ed.

Greg joined them at the table, bringing coffee, fruit and bagels. He was relieved when Sam began eating without prompting.

“So Sam, are you still planning on skipping town?” Ed sounded nonchalant, his attention on his plate but Greg could see the tension in him.

“I… don’t know. I don’t know what I’m doing.” Sam admitted, sounding lost. “If you want me to go…”

“Buddy that’s not what I’m saying at all.” Ed looked to Greg who nodded encouragingly. “Sam, you know I’m not angry with you right?” Sam looked back at him, uncertain. “I am not angry with _you_.” His words were heartfelt, his tone firm and Sam nodded in acknowledgement before speaking.

“ _I’m_ angry with me. It makes me sick to my stomach what Saunders had me believing…” He dropped the piece of bagel to his place and went a shade paler, his breath quickening.

“Sam, focus on the here and now.” Greg reached over and took Sam’s handing, holding it against his chest. “Breathe with me okay? That’s it, feel how my chest moves under your hand with each breath.” The grounding worked and Sam’s breathing evened out, colour coming back into his skin.

“I’m betting your mind is running rings around itself right now trying to make sense of everything. Buddy, you need to give yourself some time.”

He could see Sam weighing up his words. “I guess you’re right.”

There was silence between them for a moment. “I saw my father yesterday.”

“Is that the reason you were so keen to get out of town?” Ed asked.

“No… yes. I don’t know. He didn’t help, that’s for sure.”

“Why, what happened?” Greg kept his tone deliberately neutral, hoping Sam would confide in them.

“He asked me not to press charges against Saunders in a civilian court. Said it would be damaging to the family name.”

Ed swore and stood, moving to stand at the sink. Greg stayed put, watching Sam, knowing at least one of them needed to keep a level head for his sake. Ed returned to his seat after a minute. “Sorry buddy.”

“That’s okay. That was pretty much my reaction.” Sam replied, with a hint of a smile. He looked like he was going to say something else, but changed his mind and instead picked up a piece of bagel and chewed on it.

When he did speak again, it was on a different topic altogether.

“Did you mean what you said last night? About still wanting… this?” he gestured in a circle at the three of them. “Even after…”

“We meant it.” Ed said, without hesitation.

“Nothing had changed Sam, not if you don’t want it to.” Greg added. Sam looked from one to the other and Greg could see he was reluctant to believe them.

“How can you still want me after…”

“I think you need to give yourself a break Sam.” Greg replied. “You were under a lot of pressure with your Dad, then Saunders turned up and I can’t imagine what facing him again was like. Then they showed you those reports. Put all of that together with your past experience with Saunders and it’s easy to see how you were led to those conclusions. Whether you ever really believed them though, that’s something I’m not convinced of.”

Sam, who’d been staring at his plate while Greg spoke like it was the most fascinating thing in the world, looked up with interest. “You asked to talk to Rangford even after your father vouched for the information he’d given you. And you had absolutely no reason to doubt your father or the reports but you did. Because deep down you knew what they were telling you wasn’t true.”

“And at the hotel room.” Ed added. “Saunders felt the need to drug you even though you’d gone there with him willingly.”

“How did you know that?” Sam asked, looking between Greg and Ed.

“Paul told us.” Greg replied.

“He said he’d just have ordered me like before but he thought after all my time with you I might need some assistance complying.”

“So he drugged you instead.” Ed said flatly.

“Yeah, it was stupid, I should have expected something like that.”

“Why, had he drugged you before?” Greg asked, being careful how much emotion he let into his voice.

“No, he didn’t need to. I was following orders.” Sam said bitterly.

“Then how could you have anticipated him drugging you? He knew you were re-enlisting, that you had agreed to serve under his command. There was no reason for him to think you wouldn’t cooperate and no reason for you to think he’d drug you.” Greg hoped Sam would follow his reasoning.

“When you put it like that then yeah, I guess. Drugging wasn’t exactly his MO.”

They talked for a while longer, Sam slowly coming around to the idea that he wasn’t to blame for what had transpired. Greg and Ed carefully framed what happened in more neutral tones to help Sam get his head around what had gone on.

“We’re not on shift today, but we’re due in for a meeting and some training.” Greg said as the conversation drifted to a close. “Do you feel like joining us? Maybe having a talk with Commander Holleran?”

“I guess.” Sam replied.

“Great. I know the rest of the team will be happy to see you. They’ve been worried.” Ed said.

***

Sam felt more and more tense as they approached headquarters though logically he knew facing the rest of the team wasn’t going to be any worse than facing Ed and Greg.

As he followed the two men to the door, feeling like a coiled spring, he was distracted by the sight of Jules and Lou rappelling down the side of the building, hitting the ground in front of them, Jules a small margin faster than Lou.

It was clear from the expression on both their faces when they caught sight of Greg and Ed standing there that they hadn’t anticipated an audience.

“What did Greg tell you about those windows?” Ed said loudly. Greg stood next to him, arms folded, trying to look stern but struggling to conceal a smile.

“Sorry boss.” They said simultaneously, matching contrite expressions on their faces until Jules caught sight of Sam hovering in the background.

“Sam!” Jules detached herself from the rope and moved towards him, throwing her arms around him. Lou followed more sedately, clapping a hand on Sam’s shoulder.

“We didn’t know you’d be back today. You’re just in time, we’re doing some training with the new CQB system. Now we’ll know who’s really number one.” Jules grinned.

“Give him a few minutes to settle in before you start the competition Jules.” Greg admonished.

Wordy met them just inside the door. “Sam, good to see you back buddy.”

Once they got past the greetings it was almost like he’d never left as they laughed and joked while heading to the locker room. As they reached the door, a voice called out, stopping Sam cold.

“Braddock. My office. Now.”

Sam gulped at Holleran’s tone and turned to follow the older man. Greg clapped a hand on his shoulder as he walked past. “It’s all gonna be okay Sam.” He said quietly.

“Come join us when you’re finished Sam.” Ed called, sounding much more confident than Sam felt that he’d still be welcome after his meeting with Holleran.


	14. Tumbling After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, I'm stealing lines from nursery rhymes for my chapter titles again.

The meeting with Commander Holleran was short and to the point.

“Sit down Sam.”

He took a seat across from the Commander.

“How are you holding up?” The concern seemed genuine, fatherly even.

“It’s been a rough few days.” Sam answered honestly.

Commander Holleran wasted no time getting  to the crux of the issue. “I’m willing to discount your resignation, seeing as I’m certain it was given under duress. But with everything that had happened, I have to ask, do you want to return to the SRU?” Holleran sounded sceptical and Sam could hardly blame him.

He resisted the urge to say the first thing that came to mind; that he didn’t have anywhere else to go. Instead, he looked deeper, tried to remember what he’d have said if asked the same thing a week ago.

“Working in the SRU is the best job I’ve ever had. So yeah, I want to be here.”

Commander Holleran nodded in response, a smile gracing his usually stoic face. “I'm glad to hear that Sam. There’ll be a few conditions attached to your return of course. I want you to see the psychologist for an evaluation before you restart active duty and you’ll need to undergo mandatory counselling.” Sam had been expecting that. The psych eval at least.

Holleran dismissed him a few minutes later after they discussed the particulars of his reinstatement.

He found the team in the briefing room and stood in the doorway, watching as Greg talked through the training plan for the morning. Ed caught sight of him and nudged Greg who quickly wrapped up what he was saying. “Guys, can you give us a minute.”

The rest of the team filed out past Sam giving him encouraging smiles.

“So how’d it go?” Greg asked.

“Better than I thought it would. Need a psych eval before I come back and had to agree to a stint in counselling.” Sam shrugged. “So nothing unexpected. But Commander Holleran doesn’t want me on site until after the initial psych eval so I should get going.”

“Okay Sam. Here, you’d better take this.” Ed held out his hand and dropped a key into Sam’s palm. When Sam looked at it in confusion, Ed clarified. “It’s a key to our place. You broke the lease on your apartment, right?”

“Right. I was thinking I’d stay with Paul until I sorted something else out.” He said, feeling a bit blindsided.

“You might be more comfortable with us. Your own room, your own bed.” Greg replied. “No pressure though. That door is open whenever you feel ready.” He gave Sam a moment to digest that bit of information.

“Come on, I’ll drop you home while Ed starts the team off on the course. Don’t worry, you and Jules can have your face off next week.”

“See you later Sam.” Ed called after them.

“Where to?” Greg asked, when they got in the car.

“My apartment, I suppose. Most of my stuff is in storage already but I need to get the rest out by tomorrow and take it to Paul’s”

“I can help if you want.”

“No, you should get back in case the team gets called up. And I could do with a bit of space to clear my head.”

***

The team were happy with the news they were getting Sam back. “And we don’t need to train in another rookie.” Wordy had joked. The day’s training had been a success and they weren’t needed for any active calls.

Greg and Ed returned home in the early evening. The house was still and quiet. Greg had known not to expect Sam and had warned Ed as well. He went into the kitchen to start dinner, surprised to hear Ed call him quietly from the hall a moment later.

He retraced his steps to find Ed at the door to the living room. He put his finger to his lips and gestured inside. Greg peered through the doorway and saw what Ed had found. Sam, curled up asleep on the couch, a bag and two boxes sitting on the floor next to him. Ed was smiling at the sight. He quietly picked up the bag and disappeared upstairs. He returned with a blanket and tiptoed back into the room, laying it over the young Alpha. Sam barely stirred.

“One more for dinner I guess.” Greg whispered and they both made their way to the kitchen, closing the door behind them.

***

Sam had planned to bring his stuff to Paul’s apartment, but as he packed up, the key Ed had given him was weighing on his mind. It was an open invitation. A chance to make things work. A choice. Did he want to keep running or did he want to find somewhere he belonged?

He called a taxi once he had everything packed and ready to go. The decision on his destination was made a split second before the cab driver asked him and they pulled up in front of Greg and Ed’s place half an hour later.

He let himself in with the key and brought his bag and boxes into the living room. Then he sat down and waited.

He didn’t remember falling asleep but he woke to the sound of distant laughter and a warm blanket covering him. It took him a moment to orientate himself. There was the clink of plates and the smell of food wafting through the room and his stomach growled. He hadn’t eaten since breakfast and that felt like a long time ago.

He heard Ed’s voice. “I’ll go wake sleeping beauty.” And the door through to the kitchen slid open and Ed came in. “Hey, you’re awake.”

“Yeah, sorry. What time is it?” Sam asked, sitting up and rubbing a hand across his eyes. “Almost seven.” Ed replied. “Hungry? Greg made carbonara.”

“Starving.” Sam said as his stomach rumbled again and he stood up. Ed’s gaze turned intense all of a sudden and he took a step towards Sam. Sam stepped back almost as fast, regretting the movement a second later as Ed’s face fell. “Sorry, I didn’t mean…”

“It’s okay Sam. Come on.”

Sam followed Ed to the kitchen and took a seat at the table as Greg put the plates of food out.

He could see Ed and Greg exchange a look but wasn’t sure what it meant. He was cursing himself for his reaction. It was stupid. He’d come here, to their home, voluntarily. A clear indication that he wanted what they were offering. So why the hell was he reacting like that when Ed tried to get close?

He asked about the new CQB course as they ate and Greg asked how his packing up had gone. Ed stayed mostly silent, though Greg tried to draw him into the conversation.

The table got quiet towards the end of the meal, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Sam considered solutions to the current predicament. There was one very obvious one, but he wasn’t sure Ed would go for it. He thought it was at least worth mentioning though. Maybe if he showed he was willing Ed would be more likely to consider it.

“Ed, maybe we could try a bond bite. It would probably fix things.”

Ed put down his fork and just looked at him. Greg nearly choked on a mouthful of pasta. For a moment Sam was sure he’d said the wrong thing, knowing the Alpha’s feelings on the method Saunders had used to create an Alpha bond. A bite on the back of the neck during penetrative sex was a well known, tried and tested, method. It would be enough to override Sam’s instinctive reaction to Ed’s attempts to get close. He’d be compliant.

Ed’s response took him by surprise. “Okay, fine. A bond bite.” He pushed his chair back and stood. “Let’s get this done.”

“Eddie?” Greg asked cautiously as Sam got to his feet.

“It’s okay Greg. I know what I’m doing. Upstairs, now.” The last was directed at Sam.

Sam turned around and left the room, climbing the stairs. It was only beginning to register with him what he’d done but it was too late to take it back.

“My room.” Ed said, as they reached the top of the stairs. Sam entered, Ed a step behind him. He looked around the sparsely furnished room. There was a dresser, he supposed that would do. He moved towards it, hand going to his belt.

“No Sam, end of the bed, now.” Ed corrected and Sam turned and moved. “Sit down.” Ed added and Sam paused in confusion. “I said sit.” Ed said sharply. Sam sat, resting tense hands on his thighs and waited.

Ed grabbed the only chair in the room and moved it right in front of him, then sat down. They were eye to eye or they would have been, if Sam hadn’t been staring at his own hands.

“What do you think is going to happen here Sam, huh?”

When Sam didn’t respond, he kept talking. “This is like in the shower this morning. I make a move, you pull back, then you overcompensate trying to make up for it.”

Sam couldn’t think of anything to say to that.

“Do you know what a bond bite would do, right now?” Ed’s voice was soft and it drew Sam’s eyes to his. “It would hurt you. And I think you’ve been hurt enough for a lifetime already this week.”

“I don’t know how to fix this.” Sam said finally, feeling helpless and hating it.

“Do you remember when we brought you back to Paul’s place? You were drugged, Lou was with us. You’d panicked in the car and we had to handcuff you after you lunged for the door and punched me in the face.”

Sam winced at the reminder of what he’d done. Ed ignored that and kept talking. “You were in and out so I’m not sure how much you remember but we got you back to Paul’s and I tried to settle you in bed. You panicked, tried to fight us off. There was a point where I had you pinned to the bed, you were confused, scared…” Ed trailed off and looked away for a moment.

Sam could recall vividly the image of Ed on top of him, feeling his handcuffed wrists pinned above his head. Remembered begging the Alpha not to… oh. He looked up to find Ed watching him carefully, reading the answer from his face.

“You do remember. I’m not surprised your instinct is to keep some distance between us. You need to relearn that I’m safe, that I’m not a threat like your subconscious has labelled me. And that takes time Sam, not a bond bite.” Ed gently chided him.

“You’re right.” Sam said and echoed Ed’s own words from that night. “You’re nothing like Saunders.”

Ed’s face darkened at hearing the man’s name but there was no anger in his voice when he spoke. “There’s no rush with this Sam. No time line we have to follow.”

“But I don’t want this to move at a snail’s pace.” Sam ground out suddenly, letting his frustration come to the surface. “I don’t want Saunders to get between us any more than he already has. I thought the bond bite would just… get us past that.”

“Alright. Lie back.” Ed sighed in resignation and when Sam looked at him askance, he spoke again, making it an order. “Lie down, Sam.”

He let himself fall backwards, back hitting the bed with a soft thud. Ed got up, moved the chair away and went to the door. He called Greg, who appeared in seconds. They spoke at the doorway, in whispers so quiet Sam couldn’t make out the words.

They came into the room, Greg going over to Sam.

“Ed wants to try a desensitisation technique.” When Sam frowned at his words, he clarified. “Like how phobias are treated. The key is to get you to relax. Come on, let’s get you comfortable.”

Greg grabbed some pillows and encouraged Sam to lie in the middle of the bed, pillows under his head. Ed had disappeared from the room and came back with a small bottle. Sam eyed it with concern. Was it some kind of drug? “Massage oil.” Ed said, when he caught Sam looking.

Ed pushed his sleeves up and knelt on the bed beside him. Greg was sitting on the other side, there to lend a hand if they needed him. Ed poured some oil onto his hand and rubbed it between his palms, warming it before he moved to straddle Sam’s waist.

“Now, nice slow breaths. Just say stop if you need a break.” Ed’s hands moved towards Sam’s face and he couldn’t help his instinctive reaction, flinching and closing his eyes. But he didn’t speak and Ed didn’t stop, fingers brushing along the edge of Sam’s clenched jaw and up along his forehead. Then one finger ran from the centre of his forehead and down along his nose. He scrunched up his face at the tickling touch. Then fingers of both hands were on his forehead, smoothing out the skin, ghosting along the bruises before coming to rest at his temples where they rubbed soft circles into his skin. Then the fingers traced along his cheek bones and down towards his mouth.

It was hard to keep his body tense under such gentle ministrations and he found himself relaxing. The oil had a nice earthy scent, not overpowering and the skin beneath it tingled pleasantly.

Ed rubbed a calloused thumb across Sam’s lips and Sam jolted a little at the touch, eyes opening. “Remember Sam, if you need a break just say stop.” Greg spoke from somewhere near Sam’s head. “I’m okay.” He managed to say, voice catching.

Ed continued his gentle massage until Sam was more asleep than awake. “You still with us Sam?” he asked. “Just about.” Came Sam’s reply. “Remember, you’re safe with me, okay?” “Okay Ed.” Sam mumbled back. He felt Ed’s hands on his wrists and his arms were gently positioned above his head. He knew he should be more concerned, as Ed leaned over and pinned his wrists to the bed, but his body was relaxed and sleepy and he knew there was no threat. He opened his eyes and found Ed’s blue eyes inches away, intense gaze fixed on him.

“This alright?” Ed asked him, voice low and careful. Sam’s hands strained in Ed’s hold and Ed’s grip loosened. He relaxed and Ed’s hands tightened again, grip secure but not painful. “Better than alright.” Sam answered.

“Is that so?” Ed asked, a hint of a smile on his face. He leaned in until his mouth was only an inch above Sam’s and paused. It was Sam who lifted his head and closed the distance between them, their lips meeting. Ed moved his hands so their fingers were interlinked and he deepened the kiss, mouth warm on Sam’s, tongue swiping gently into Sam’s mouth. They pulled apart eventually, both breathing hard and Ed rolled away to lie next to Sam.

Sam turned to Greg where he sat next to them. The expression on his face was wistful and Sam remembered the early days of their relationship and Greg’s expectation of rejection. He reached out a hand to the older Alpha and Greg moved to lie beside them, letting Sam draw him in for a kiss.

He was surprised to find Greg chuckling when he pulled away. “What’s funny?” he asked, bemused. “You’re all shiny from the oil.” Sam ran fingers down his face and held them up in front of him, frowning as they glistened in the light. He reached over and swiped his hand down Greg’s face before he could pull away, leaving a trail of oil along his skin. “There, now you’re shiny too.”

Ed mumbled something under his breath about grown men behaving like four year olds and left the room. He returned and handed a cloth to Greg with a raised eyebrow. Greg nodded, something passing between them that Sam didn’t quite get, until Greg moved to straddle Sam just as Ed had done. “This okay?” he asked, cautious. Sam nodded, eyes flicking between the two men.

Greg reached out the cloth and touched it against Sam’s cheek. It was wet and warm against his skin and Sam closed his eyes as Greg moved inch by inch across his face, cleaning away the oil. He was gentle over the cuts and bruises, lightly running a finger along each one as he wiped them clean. When he finished, Greg leaned away to put the cloth on the bedside locker then moved to lie next to Sam, curling into his side. Ed pressed closer too. Sam felt safe and relaxed as he lay there between the two men and he knew he'd made the right decision.


	15. Holding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone* mentioned cuddles... and I got a little carried away. Warning as per chapter four.

That night Sam had another nightmare. It was the same as before, taking out targets, going down to do the IDs and finding Greg and Ed’s bodies. But this time Jules, Wordy and Lou’s bodies too. His team. He crumbled to his knees yelling and woke, sitting bolt upright, eyes unseeing and tears making tracks down his face.

“Sam? Sam, what is it?” Someone tried gently to get his attention but all Sam could do was breathe. A hand pressed against his back and he jerked away.

“Easy Sam, we’re here, you’re safe.” The hand returned and he closed his eyes, permitting the touch, while he tried to orientate himself.

Another hand touched his face. “Nightmare, huh?”

He nodded without opening his eyes. Greg’s hand on his back rubbed gently up and down as Ed’s thumb wiped the trail of tears from his cheeks.

Greg moved behind him and wrapped him in a bear hug. It was tight, constricting, but he needed it, wanted to be held. Greg pulled him so they were lying down and turned them so they were on their sides. Ed lay down too, moving against Sam’s front, tucking Sam’s head under his chin, his arms encircling the younger Alpha.

Sam reached a hand up between them and placed it on Ed’s chest. Ed tensed and Sam knew he was expecting Sam to push him away. Instead Sam cuddled closer but kept his hand in place, feeling the steady thump of Ed’s heart beneath his palm. The older man relaxed against him. He could feel Greg’s chest against his back rising and falling with each breath and Greg tucked his head in against Sam, the warmth of his breath tickling the skin of Sam’s neck. They were okay. It was just a dream. He drifted back to sleep within their embrace.

He woke with his face pressed into Ed’s neck, his hand now clutching Ed’s sleep shirt. Greg stirred at his back and pressed a kiss to the nape of Sam’s neck. Sam shivered and Greg gave a low chuckle before licking a long line over the spot he’d just kissed. Sam shuddered at the feeling, holding back a moan but Greg clamped his lips on the sensitive skin and suckled. Sam gasped and moaned, barely able to tolerate the heightened sensation.

“Hey now.” Ed’s sleepy voice said above Sam’s head. “Can’t an Alpha get any sleep around here?” His tone was one of amusement so his words didn’t faze Sam. Neither did his actions as he carded fingers through Sam’s hair.

Sam pressed a kiss to Ed’s neck and trailed fingers along his collar bone, glad when Ed made a pleased sound and kissed Sam’s forehead in return.

Greg’s hand was on Sam’s hip, grip firm but not tight, his thumb pressing circles into Sam’s skin. Sam’s shirt had rode up while he slept and Greg used it to his advantage, trailing his hand along Sam’s stomach, dipping the tips of his fingers under the waistband of Sam’s shorts, touch light and teasing. Sam arched his back a little as Greg’s hand dipped lower. Greg paused. “Too much?” he asked. “No, don’t stop.” Sam’s voice came out needier than he’d intended. It felt like a year had passed since he’d been touched like this, though in truth it had only been weeks.

Greg’s hand moved again, dipping lower still and trailed between Sam’s legs. Sam was already half-hard.

“Ed?” Greg asked. “Mm-hmm?” Ed was still trailing soft fingers through Sam’s hair.

“I want you inside me.”

Ed’s fingers stilled. “We are overdue some bonding time.” he said, voice low, sounding pleased.

They’d never pushed full sex with Sam but he knew they engaged in it from time to time. He’d heard them have sex in the shower once when he’d stayed over after a particularly difficult call but otherwise they’d kept this aspect of their relationship out of his sight. It was part of why he hadn’t thought they’d really wanted him.

“You mind Sam?” Greg asked, his hand still on him, stroking lightly. “No, course not.” He said. “Do you want…” He was going to offer to give them privacy but the intensity of Greg’s response made it clear that wasn’t what Greg intended.

“You stay right where you are. We are nowhere near done.” Greg said, trailing light fingers along the sensitive skin of Sam’s balls causing his breath to hitch.

Ed gently detached himself from Sam, placing kisses along Sam’s face as he did before diving in for one last drawn out kiss on the mouth that left them both panting for air.

Sam might have felt cold in Ed’s absence but Greg distracted him, nudging Sam forward into Ed’s space and then encouraging him to bend his knees while bending his own and fitting them against Sam’s. The way Greg attached himself limpet like to Sam gave Sam an idea how this was going to go. And the thought of it was kind of hot.

He could feel the hard length of Greg pressed against him through their clothes but it didn’t inspire any fear or hesitation. He knew that he could trust them to take a slow pace, not to push. When Greg moved his hips back a fraction to give Sam some space, he pushed back into him a little, letting Greg know he was comfortable with it, with the feel of Greg against him.

He heard Ed pull open a drawer and the click of a bottle being opened before Ed got back into bed behind Greg. Though he was removed from what Ed was doing to Greg he felt the moment Greg tensed and shuddered against him and knew Ed was preparing him, opening him up with slick fingers. Greg pressed another few kisses to Sam’s neck and groaned. Ed took his time, working with obvious care.

“That’s it Greg, just like that, you’re doing great.” Ed said encouragingly. “One more finger.” Greg keened into Sam’s neck while stroking his hand down Sam’s now hard cock.

Greg relaxed a little against him and Sam guessed Ed had withdrawn his fingers. Greg took advantage of the brief respite to push Sam’s shorts down a little, freeing him, before taking him in hand again.

Then he tensed before forcing a slow breath from his mouth. “Okay?” Ed asked, voice tight. “Okay.” Greg replied.

Sam didn’t feel the first few thrusts but knew, from Greg’s moans and sighs, that Ed was moving inside him. Not to mention the fact Greg's hand was stroking him in time with each thrust.

“You’re not gonna hurt me Eddie, you can let go.” Greg said.

“If you say so.” Ed replied, voice low, but he took Greg at his word and Sam felt the intensity of his thrusts increase as did the pace with which Greg’s hand was moving on him. They built up a rhythm, Ed’s hard thrusts rocking them both forward, Greg’s hand bringing Sam closer and closer to completion.

“Harder Ed.” Greg bit out and the rocking grew more forceful, Greg’s hand on Sam pulling sensations from him, over and again.

Sam came first, white hot pleasure overtaking any other thought. Greg came seconds later, hand still working Sam through his orgasm while he bit down a little on the skin of Sam’s neck. He heard Ed gasp out a curse and all three men stilled. Greg let out a low cry and Sam half turned to see Ed had bitten down on the back of his neck, harder than Greg had done to Sam.

Ed let go and they flopped bonelessly onto the mattress, sated and sticky. They lay there in companionable silence before Ed chuckled. “What’s funny?” Greg asked. “We have pancake mix in the cupboard. Sam, you up for cooking breakfast?” “Ah, of course, our tradition. Sex and pancakes.” Greg said and Sam could hear the smile in his voice.

Sam hadn’t thought of it that way, but he supposed it was a tradition.

“Shower first. Then food.” Ed said. “We have work and Sam has…” he trailed off. Sam groaned. He’d almost forgotten about his psych evaluation.

“What time are you meeting Dr. Luria?” Greg asked. “Eleven, at her office.” Sam replied. “Don’t worry, Dr. Luria’s not as scary as all that.” Ed said, correctly interpreting the dread in Sam’s voice.

“I know, I just… don’t like talking to strangers.” “You’ve met Dr. Luria.” Greg pointed out. Sam turned over to face him, while Ed propped himself up so he could see Sam over Greg’s shoulder.

“Just be honest. Tell her how you’re doing.” “Do I tell her about this?” Sam asked, gesturing to the three of them. Ed fell back with a laugh. “I think, taking everything into consideration, she’d see this as promising. I certainly do.”

Greg was trying and failing to suppress a smile at Ed words and Sam groaned and let himself flop back down to the bed. He didn’t resist when Greg moved on top of him, leaning over to kiss him.

“Do I need to get the spray bottle to keep you two apart?” Ed threatened. “Come on, up and at ‘em.”

Greg pulled away from Sam with reluctance, helping the younger man to sit up.

“Shower, food, work, talk.” Ed neatly summarised their morning schedule.

“The sooner you see Dr. Luria, the sooner you get back to work.” Greg added encouragingly.

“I know, I know.”

Ed came over and tugged Sam to his feet, leading him to the bathroom. He turned on the water, making short work of stripping Sam of his clothes before pushing Sam backwards into the shower. “We don’t have a lot of time.” He said, grinning wickedly. “But we need to follow up on last night.”

Sam took a moment to get Ed’s meaning. The desensitisation. It seemed to have worked, Sam hadn’t had the instinct to duck or avoid any of Ed’s touches so far that morning. The look in Ed’s eyes told him he had something particular in mind and Sam was unsurprised to find himself standing right at the back of the shower, against the cool tiles while Ed knelt between his legs. It was probably too soon he thought but then Ed took the tip of him into his mouth and he was hard almost instantly.

He heard a chuckle and glanced up to see Greg at the door to the shower. “Now who needs the spray bottle? Come on, we haven’t got all morning.”

Sam looked down to find Ed’s eyes looking up. One hand was pressed to Sam’s hip the other holding Sam’s length while he gently rolled his tongue along the tip. His gaze was a question and Sam smiled and reached a hand down, linking his fingers with Ed’s where he gripped Sam’s hip. It was enough to convince Ed, who took more of Sam into his mouth drawing a low moan from him. “Oh god Ed, don’t stop.”

He didn’t, mouth and tongue working over Sam expertly, drawing pants and moans. Greg shut the shower door and leaned against it, watching. Sam came with a sharp cry and Ed swallowed around him. He released him gently, then stood, purposefully leaning over and kissing him hard on the mouth, not giving Sam a chance to catch his breath.

When he pulled away, he turned to Greg and grinned. “I think it’s working. We’ll have to keep it up though.”

He tossed Sam a washcloth, grabbing another and pulling Greg to the centre of the shower. Sam leaned against the wall, giving himself a minute to recover as Ed cleaned Greg with careful hands. He watched as Ed ran the wash cloth between Greg cheeks and when Greg winced very slightly, he carefully checked him over with soaped up fingers despite Greg’s protests. “I’m fine Ed, muscles just not used to it. We haven’t done that in a while.” Finally Ed was satisfied and he let Greg finish washing. Sam washed himself quickly and Ed did likewise before all three tumbled out of the shower and dried off.

“I’ll go get the pancakes started.” Sam said as his stomach grumbled. He paused and turned back at the bathroom door in time to see Ed wrap an arm around Greg and pull him to lean against him, both men smiling with contentment as they watched him leave. Sam felt a strong sense of belonging at that moment, something he hadn’t felt in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *It was SoupShue.


	16. Expectations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a bit of a shock halfway through writing this chapter (news that has since turned out to be nowhere near as bad as it seemed at first, thankfully) so instead of planned plot progression, you get comfort/smut/sex. Roughly in that order.

His first session with Dr. Luria went a lot better than expected. Sam did what Ed and Greg had advised and answered her questions honestly, thankful that she was more keen on talking about the here and now and not about his past experience with Saunders. She listened impassively as he related how things stood between him, Greg and Ed. He told her he was having nightmares but spared her the details. They talked for over an hour and he knew they were reaching the end when she began the next sentence with “What I think you need right now Sam…”

He anticipated many answers to that question. A few weeks off to clear your head, a holiday, a change of career. So when she said, “is to get back to work.” He almost fell off his chair. She nearly laughed at the look of shock on his face but schooled her face into a more professional expression before she continued. “It takes time to deal with the emotional fallout of things like this. The best way to do that is get back to normal, back to routine. You have good support in your team, lean on them when you need to. I’ll see you twice a week for the first month and we’ll take it from there. How does that sound?”

“That sounds good. Better than good. Will Commander Holleran agree?”

“I can be very persuasive Sam, leave that to me.”

They decided he’d start back the following week, she suggested he go in for workouts and training sessions for a few days before joining the team for an active call.

***

He went to see Paul after his meeting with Dr. Luria. He’d checked with Winnie and on finding out the team were out on a call, he didn’t ring Ed or Greg, not wanting to bother them. He re-thought that a few minutes later and sent a text reassuring them that it had gone well, knowing they’d get back to him when they were free.

Paul looked him up and down critically before declaring he looked better than he had in a while. “I knew those Alphas were the right sort. So I hear there’s an investigation into Saunders and it’s looking like they’ll bring him up on charges.”

If Sam went a little pale at hearing the Colonel’s name, Paul didn’t mention it, but he changed the subject soon after.

Sam got home just after lunch, mentally worn out and still physically drained from everything that had happened. He lay down on the couch, intending on resting his eyes just for a few minutes but falling into a deep sleep.

***

It had been a hard call. Bank robbery gone wrong, one hostage dead, one freed, bank robber dead at his own hand. Ed tried calling Sam as they drove home, but got no answer. His bike was parked in the driveway though so Greg was unsurprised to find him asleep on the couch again. Ed followed him into the living room and they stood for a moment watching the sleeping Alpha. 

“We should probably wake him.” Greg said with a sigh. Sam looked so peaceful, face free from the worries that weighed on him. 

“I’d suggest trying a sleeping beauty on him but with his reflexes, you’ll probably end up dodging a punch to the face.” Ed gestured vaguely to the almost healed cut on the side of his head for emphasis.

Greg sat on the coffee table next to him instead. “Sam, time to wake up. Sam?” When words didn’t reach him, Greg reached tentatively over and shook his shoulder. “Sam buddy, it’s Greg. It’s time to wake up.”

That got a sleepy murmur from him and Sam turned a little, moving to lie on his side and squinting up at Greg. “What’s going on? What time is it?”

Confused, disorientated Sam was endearing, especially when it wasn’t followed by wary, fearful Sam, which they’d seen enough of to last a lifetime.

“It’s nearly 7pm buddy. Dinner time. Are you hungry?” 

Sam continued to watch him uncomprehendingly, his mind slowly trying to get in gear. It was a testament to how truly exhausted he was that it was such an effort to get him orientated. 

He sat up then, peering around bleary eyed. Greg moved to sit next to him, slinging an arm around him as Sam pressed into his side.

“How’d it go with Dr. Luria?” Ed took Greg’s spot on the coffee table. Sam canted his head to the side and thought for a moment. It was like watching a snail make it’s way up a wall. Slow and effortful. “She said I should go back to work. Just training for the first few days, back to active duty next week. Says the team’s a good support for me.”

“That’s great Sam, really great.” Ed said. 

“Paul says they’re investigating Saunders.” Sam said with a frown and a slight tensing of his shoulders.

“Just like your father said they would Sam. It’s a good thing.”

“I guess.” He replied, and Greg ran his hand up and down his arm, happy when Sam relaxed beneath his touch.

“I’ll make a start on dinner.” Ed said and left the room.

“Maybe put a pot of coffee on?” Greg called after him.

“How’d your call go?” Sam asked sounding more alert.

“Badly, one hostage dead before we got there, the subject took his own life, I couldn’t talk him down. We got the other hostage out safe.”

“Well that’s something.” “Yeah, it’s something.”

***

There was no discussion about where they’d sleep that night. They fell into bed in the master bedroom, Sam in the centre, Ed and Greg either side. They were still somewhat possessive and protective, Sam knew, but also mindful of giving him his space. 

The nightmare came again and there were new faces in amongst the bodies. His sister Natalie, his mother. He woke with a start, his heart thumping, to someone pinning his wrists to the bed and a soft insistent voice in his ear. His first thought was to get his hands free, to defend himself but a second set of arms wrapped around his upper body, a leg thrown over his knees to keep him from kicking out.

Realising he wasn’t going to free himself, he relaxed, hoping whoever it was might loosen their hold and he could catch them off guard and escape. 

“Sam, it’s just us, you’re okay, you’re safe. It was just a dream.” The voice said in his ear and he realised it was Ed. His eyes managed to focus in the dark and he saw Greg in front of him, hands holding his wrists against the mattress. “Sorry.” He tried to say, voice cracking, realising he must have lashed out in his sleep.

“It’s alright Sam, just take some nice, slow breaths.” Greg said. He did, feeling his heart slow and his head clear. The hands holding him relaxed their grip and Ed pressed closer to Sam, instantly transforming his hold from restraining to comforting. Greg leaned over to switch on the bedside lamp.

“Nightmare?” 

“Yeah.” Sam struggled to shake the lingering images from his dream, the sharp sounds of the gunshots, the feel of sand beneath his feet and the sight of blood as it pooled beneath the bodies.

“Can you tell us about it?” Sam could only shake his head, unwilling to share it with them. Ed pressed a kiss behind Sam’s ear and bodily shifted him over onto his stomach.

“What are you doing?” Sam asked sleepily. “Helping.” Came his reply. 

Sam’s shirt was pushed up before Ed’s cold hands settled on his back. Sam tried to sit up only for Ed to press him back down, moving to straddle his waist. “Just relax.” Sam flopped back down with a huff. “Your hands are cold.” He muttered. 

Greg chuckled from beside Sam. “We’ll get Ed some mittens for next time, okay?”

“Hey!” Ed protested. Sam turned his head towards Greg and saw Ed’s hand as it reached over to Greg who was lying on his back beside them. His hand played with the waistband of Greg’s pajamas then slipped beneath. It provoked an immediate reaction from Greg, who let out a strangled cry, squirming against Ed’s cold hand between his legs as he tried to pull away. Ed laughed. “You were saying?” “Nothing, nothing.” Greg gasped out, holding his hands up in surrender.

Ed’s hand withdrew and Sam felt it press against his back once more. Ed pushed his hands up to Sam’s shoulders, beneath his shirt and started a slow massage, using his upper body to lean in, pressing hard against Sam’s muscles. It was punishing in its intensity and Sam hissed beneath Ed’s hands.

“Too much?” Ed asked softly. “I can take it.” Sam replied. Ed eased off at his reply. “It’s not a punishment, Sam, it’s a massage. You tense up after a nightmare.” His hands rubbed teasingly along Sam’s shoulder blades and Sam shuddered a little.

“Greg, on your stomach too, I’ll deal with you in a minute.” He said as an aside. “Me, what did I do?!” Greg protested. “Mittens.” Ed muttered darkly.

Greg moved, turning his head so he and Sam were face to face as Ed continued his massage. Sam felt his muscles surrender beneath Ed’s warming hands and the residual fear from the nightmare dissipated.

“Sam, stay there.” Ed said, as he got off the bed and went to the dresser, rooting around in the drawer. “Ed, you’re not getting what I think you’re getting are you?” Greg called, concern warring with amusement on his face. 

“You’ve only yourself to blame.” Ed said cheerfully, climbing back into bed to straddle Greg’s legs and pulling his pajama trousers down. 

Sam turned around to figure out what was going on. Greg rolled his eyes but stayed relaxed lying on the bed. “Ed doesn’t take being teased well.” He said with a huff that turned into a groan as Ed, fingers slick with lube, pushed into him. “Come on Ed, none of us are going to get back to sleep at this rate.”

“Wanna bet? You’ll both sleep like babies when I’m done with you.” 

Sam shivered in response to Ed’s low voice and his eyes widened when he saw what Ed picked up in his hand. Ed took the sleek metal toy and rested it for a moment, poised between Greg’s cheeks before slowly pushing it inside. Greg groaned, turning his face into the pillow and shifted before letting out another gasp. “Dammit Ed, that’s cold.” Came his muffled voice. “Mm-hmm” Was Ed’s response as Greg shuddered beneath him.

Ed, one hand gripping Greg’s hip, reached for Sam, slipping a hand beneath the waistband of his sleep shorts. Sam used a hand to muffle his groan as Ed used long, firm strokes to get him hard. “Sam, do you want to give Greg a hand?” Ed asked, voice teasing as he shifted so Greg was lying on his side between them. “It’s not coming out until you come.” Ed murmured into Greg’s ear, pulling another moan from him. 

Greg opened his eyes, meeting Sam’s. “Don’t look so worried Sam, this is a game we’ve played before, many times. Participation is completely optional.” 

Sam moved forward to kiss the older Alpha. Greg’s hand snaked around his head and he deepened the kiss before Sam pulled away and moved down the bed until he was level with Greg’s groin. He leaned in and took Greg’s cock into his mouth, delighting in drawing a head to toe shudder from him as he swallowed him deeper. He felt rather than saw Ed move, firm hand on Sam’s knee, drawing it across Greg’s legs before his hand found its way under his shorts again.

Greg didn’t last long, thrusting shallowly into Sam’s mouth, giving Sam full control. Sam swallowed as he came, the salty taste coating his tongue. He orgasmed a minute later, Ed’s hand skilfully bringing him over the threshold. Greg cradled Sam’s head against his stomach as Ed gently pulled the toy out and tossed it onto the nightstand. “Knew that’d come in handy.” He was grinning.

Sam slowly detached himself from Greg. “I’ll go get a washcloth.” He padded out of the room and into the bathroom. He turned on the light and caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, wide eyes, flushed cheeks and lips. He looked sated and happy. Not gaunt and haunted which was how he usually looked in the mirror at night since Afghanistan. And that change, he knew, was down to Ed and Greg.

He returned to the bedroom to find Ed sitting on the side of the bed, head thrown back, Greg kneeling between his legs. Sam stripped off his shorts and cleaned himself off as he watched. Ed came with a shout, letting himself fall backwards, upper body hitting the mattress with a bounce. 

Greg rested his head against Ed’s thigh. Ed recovered first, urging Greg to his feet. “Back to bed now.” Sam handed over a washcloth and Ed cleaned them both up a bit before pushing Greg into the bed. He waved Sam over, giving him a once over as well before nudging him in after Greg. He climbed in after them, cuddling up against Sam’s back. Sam’s eyes were closing before his head even reached the pillow and he was dimly aware of Greg pressing close, nose nudging his.

They slept like the dead, waking long after the sun had risen to Ed’s gentle but insistent urgings. “Told you you’d sleep like babies.” He said smugly when they were awake enough to hear him. Greg threw a pillow at him, but he only laughed and threw it back. Sam grabbed his own pillow to join in and it turned into a full blown pillow fight, Ed finally tackling Sam so he was flat on his back and tickling him without mercy. He laughed until tears streamed down his face and all three were sprawled across the bed, breathing hard.


	17. Progress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now with actual plot...

His first day back saw him beat Jules on the new CQB course. By a hair’s breadth. “A win is a win.” Jules had said, unflappably cheerful since Sam’s return. They did some time on the firing range, Ed insisting Sam go through some of the requalification drills but thankfully not all of them. It was hard to believe it had only been just over a week since he’d last been at work.

The team went out for drinks his first night back and he found himself wedged between Wordy and Lou at their table, Greg and Ed sitting across from him with Jules, who had disappeared briefly returning to set a large slice of pie on the table in front of Sam. When Sam had looked at her with raised eyebrows, she had simply grinned and told him to ask Ed. They were all in good spirits.

His phone rang an hour later. His father. He excused himself to take the call.

“Samuel, how are you?”

He let the door of the bar swing closed behind him, blocking out some of the noise.

“I’m doing okay sir, starting back at work.”

“I’m glad to hear that. You didn’t give a statement to the police about Saunders.” He’d thought about it, talked it over with Ed and Greg and even with Dr. Luria, but it had felt too exposed and he didn’t feel up to dealing with the strife it would cause in his family. They had more than enough of that already. He knew Greg was still hoping to talk Sam around to giving a statement but neither of the Alphas were pushing it.

“No, I haven’t.” He didn’t mention that he still might.

“Good. The military investigation is in its early stages presently but I think it’s unlikely that you’ll be questioned. Saunders has been put on leave pending the outcome. I wanted to warn you as he’s still in the city. If he does try to make contact, call me immediately, day or night.”

“I will, Sir.” Sam hoped there wouldn’t be any need. He couldn’t see Saunders trying to contact him now. What would be the point?

“Good. Your mother and I would like you to come for dinner next Sunday.”

“Sorry Sir, we’re on shift next weekend.” Sam was relieved to have a ready made excuse and be spared the need to manufacture one.

“Soon then, I’ll ask your mother to arrange it.”

They finished up the call quickly, to Sam’s relief, and he turned to find Jules hovering nearby. Not close enough to have been listening in on the conversation but near enough he knew she was waiting for him.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, just my Dad.”

“How’s he taking it?”

“He’s feeling guilty and trying to make amends I guess. He just has a way of going about it…” Sam trailed off.

“Too much military precision, too little caring Dad?” Jules said.

“Something like that. He never stops being his rank first and a father second.”

“It’s hard to change the habit of a lifetime.”

Jules was in what Sam had privately termed her perceptive mode. It was what made her, after Greg, the best negotiator Team One had. At first it had irritated him a little, feeling like she was profiling him, before he figured out it was just her way. She didn’t shy away from talking about the tough stuff. Whereas he and his army buddies had a legion of ways of avoiding talking about anything of significance. Part of why Paul always organised get togethers in the loudest venue he could find.

“I’m surprised Ed and the boss haven’t come looking for me.” Sam said, changing the subject. There was only so much talking about his father he could manage in one go.

“I told them I’d check on you. I’d say we have less than five minutes before they send a search party.” As she spoke the door opened and Wordy appeared.

“Are you guys okay?” “We’re fine, just talking.” Jules replied. “Maybe you could continue this conversation inside, at least in sight of Ed and the Sarge. They’re both a little antsy.”

Sam exchanged an amused look with Jules. “Sure, we should head back in.”

Wordy held the door open and Jules headed inside, followed by Sam. He caught sight of Ed and Greg as he entered, their eyes trained on the door and Lou sitting next to them, looking less than comfortable.

“I guess I was gone a little long.” Sam said. Wordy clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, it’ll even out in a week or two and they’ll be back to normal. Alpha dynamics in a team like ours is always a little complicated. You’re here and you’re safe. That’s all that matters.”

As they reached the table, Ed moved seats looking pointedly at the one between him and Greg. Sam got the message clearly and sat down between them. Greg leaned over, bringing his mouth next to Sam’s ear.

“Everything okay?” “Fine.” He replied, “Just my Dad, you know.”

“I know buddy, I know.”

***

The next day was more training. Then they had the weekend off. Ed and Greg had raised the idea of decorating the room they wanted Sam to have so Saturday morning was taken up with shopping for paint and other supplies.

To Sam’s surprise, the actual task of decorating became a team affair, with initially Jules offering her skills and then the whole Beta contingent of the team promising to come and lend a hand.

They had the painting done and dusted by Saturday evening and Lou and Jules returned Sunday morning to help with the rest. Sam then got to spend Sunday evening putting away his stuff into wardrobes and drawers.

He found himself sitting on the bed later in the evening, marvelling at how much had changed in such a short space of time. He heard a noise and looked up to find Ed standing in the doorway. “Looks pretty good.” He commented. “We’ll get the rest of your stuff out of storage during the week. Anything you don’t need we can put in the garage.”

“Thanks.”

Ed sat down next to him on the bed, surveying the room. “If you think of anything else you want, we’ll sort it out.”

“What more could I want?” He asked with a smile.

“Some curtains maybe? I don’t think those match the colour of the walls.” Ed laughed at the expression on Sam’s face and cut off his protest with a kiss.

“Come on, we’d better get down to the kitchen before Greg cremates dinner.” Ed said as they broke apart.

Sam followed Ed from the room, closing the door carefully behind him.

***

Greg knew Sam’s first few days back on active duty would be hard but he stopped worrying at the end of their first call, when Sam declared over the headset “I forgot how much I love this job.”

“Yeah, it’s the best isn’t it?” Jules responded with enthusiasm.

“That’s why we get the cool pants.” Greg joined in their banter, sitting in the SUV next to Ed.

Sam’s second shift, they got a call out to a remote area, reports coming in of a man holding a gun to his head.

Greg went to negotiate, Lou seconding him from the truck, Ed and Wordy covered Greg on the ground while Sam and Jules went to find a perch in case a scorpio shot was needed.

It was a clearing in a wooded area, some kind of training course. The site coordinator was there, with a map of the area. Ed picked out some good vantage points, sending Sam to one and Jules to the other.

They approached the young man who was walking in circles, a gun pressed to his head. Ed and Wordy had their shields up, protecting Greg.

“Hi there. My name is Sergeant Gregory Parker, I’m with the Strategic Response Unit. I was hoping we could talk.”

The young man froze and looked up, pulling behind a tree. He had the gun pressed loosely to his head. His eyes were red, face pale. They had his attention.

“Can you tell me your name?” Greg took the first few steps towards making a connection. The man shook his head and pivoted in place, his back to the tree as he looked around as if to see if there were more people coming for him.

“It’s okay. It’s just me and my team. Could you maybe lower that gun a little?”

The young man’s eyes met his again. They were haunted. “Can you tell me what has you out here today?” Greg pushed gently.

In his ear, he could hear his team talking. Lou working on an ID for their subject, Ed and Wordy sharing observations. “His haircut, his stance suggests military.” Ed pointed out.

“Agreed.” Sam said, from his perch. “I have the solution.” He added. “Hold Sam, hold Jules.” Greg said carefully. “He’s shown no aggression so far. Let’s see if we can talk him around.”

“I can’t do this any more, I can’t.” The man said suddenly. “Can’t do what?” Greg asked. “He said if I didn’t he’d…” he trailed off, eyes scanning the surrounding woods. The gun was still pressed to his temple.

“Who said?” Greg tried, making eye contact for one brief second before the man turned away again, scanning the trees around them, pulling the gun from his head and pointing it outwards, movements practised, trained. Ed was right. He was a soldier.

“Jules, have you got a clear shot?” Ed asked over the radio.

“No solution, trees in the way.” Jules replied. “Sam?” There was no response, only the crackle of static. “Sam, respond.” Ed repeated sharply. “I have the shot.” Sam’s voice came through strained, his wording odd. “Sam, do you have the solution?” Ed asked again. “Yes, sir. I have the solution. Everything's frosty.” Sam replied.

At the same moment as Sam’s words were carried across the airwaves, the young man pointed the gun back to his head and moved more clearly into view, eyes meeting Greg’s again. He spoke, voice barely carrying across the clearing but Greg read his lips clearly. “This is a trap.”

“What do you mean?” Greg asked, even as he heard Ed telling the others to switch radio channels, heard the team making plans around him. He couldn’t focus on that, couldn’t focus on Sam. He put all his attention on the man in front of him. The _Alpha_ in front of him, with the gun pressed firmly to his head.

What’s your name?” Greg persisted, as Ed quietly filled him in. “We’ve called in team 2 to back us up, Jules is heading to Sam’s position, Lou'll take over here and I'll join her. We’re pulling in uniforms to form a tighter perimeter.”

“Ronan Piers. Corporal Ronan Piers.” The man replied, hand shaking.

“Okay Corporal. Do you mind if I call you Ronan?”

“What does it matter?” He responded.

“Okay Ronan, that’s a fair point. You can call me Greg, alright? Do you think you could lower than gun a bit? Your hand is shaking, I don’t want you to hurt yourself by accident.”

***

Sam found a perch on top of a climbing platform that gave him a good view of the clearing and their gun wielding subject. He set himself up, got the subject in his sights and waited, ears focused on what was going on down below. He agreed with Ed’s assessment that he was military and kept a close eye on the moving subject, conscious that he might lose his chance for a clear shot if the subject started pacing again.

He thought he heard a noise behind him but checking would have necessitated taking his eyes from the subject who chose that moment to escalate, gun pointing towards the surrounding woods. So his first real awareness that something was wrong was the hard press of metal to the back of his head and a familiar voice.

“Corporal Braddock, you’ve been causing me an awful lot of trouble and, as the saying goes, it’s time to give it back. Double.”

His headset was pulled from his head. “Keep your hands on your weapon Samuel. You’ll need it. I’m about to teach you a lesson. It won’t be your last.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... and everyone's favourite Christmas gift. A cliffhanger.


	18. Control

“They want to know if you have a clear shot. Tell them you do.” Saunders said, holding Sam’s headset near his ear and listening in.

“I have the shot.” Sam said, knowing his wording would attract the Team’s attention.

Sure enough, Ed’s sharp voice came through a second later. “Sam, do you have the solution?”

He took a risk in his reply. “Yes sir. I have the solution. Everything’s frosty.”

There was silence on the airwaves for a moment before Ed replied. “Acknowledged. Hold for now, subject is de-escalating.”

“Yes, sir.” Sam replied, feeling the hard press of Saunders’ gun against his head.

Saunders pulled the headset away and tossed it off the platform. It made a soft sound as it hit the ground below. “That should buy us enough time. Now, here’s what you’re going to do Corporal. I have some targets for you and you’re going to take them out. Or I take you out.” He pressed his gun to Sam’s skull for emphasis.

“We’ll start with your Sergeant, then your Team leader and then whoever is still standing. On my command.”

“You are out of your mind.” The first words Sam had spoken to Saunders since he'd arrived.

Saunders moved abruptly, straddling Sam’s lower body, leaning in to bring his head close to Sam’s, bracing himself on one arm. “I did my best for you Samuel, but you never learn. You’re not like Ronan down there. He was so much more pliable but more fragile too. Couldn’t keep it together any longer. I needed to handle the situation. Two birds, one stone.”

Sam had to work hard on keeping calm, feeling Saunders pressing against his lower body. This wasn’t a hotel room or an Army tent. This was his sniper’s perch. He was in his element and Saunders, by comparison, a fish out of water.

“I’m not shooting anyone.” He bit out. “You can’t force me to.”

He knew he had to buy time. The team had heard his use of their code word, even now they’d be planning a tactical response and bringing in backup.

***

“I can’t, he’s watching.”

“Who’s watching?” Greg asked the distressed Alpha, though he was certain he already knew the answer. He was dimly aware of Lou arriving and taking Ed's place, the Alpha taking off at a run.

“The Colonel.”

“Colonel Saunders?”

Ronan reacted to the name, scanning his surroundings again. “How did you know that?”

“We’ve had some dealings with him. We think he’s got one of our Team at gunpoint. He used to serve under him. Sam Braddock.”

Ronan met his eyes again, nodding. “He talked about him. About how Sam had betrayed him.”

“Colonel Saunders is under investigation for his conduct with Alphas under his command. He has a long history of manipulative behaviour.”

Ronan let out a sound, half laugh, half sob. “He brought me out here, told me I should end it all but said I could be useful to him before I took a bullet. He said if I surrendered, he’d have my parents killed and make it look like I’d done it. I’m supposed to keep you distracted.”

“No one has to die here today Ronan. We’re going to take care of Saunders and get you home. What are your parents names? We’ll send someone to check on them, keep them safe.”

***

Ed made his way towards Sam’s position, watching for any sign of other subjects in the vicinity. Jules was nearby, finding a vantage point to see what was going on. She spoke to him as he moved.

“Sam’s on a climbing platform, Saunders is with him, practically on top of him with a gun pressed to the back of his head. Sam’s hands are still on his weapon. They’re talking but I can’t make out what they’re saying.”

“Do you have the solution?”

“No, no solution, I’m going to climb higher, see if I can find a stable perch to latch on and take a shot from.”

“Alright, I’m almost there. I’ll take cover and try talking to Saunders, buy us some time.”

***

“I won’t ask again Sam. I’ve given you your targets. Take them out. Now.”

“I can’t do that sir. I’m not under your command.”

“Fine. If you won’t, I’ll get my Sierra Two to take the shot.” Sam could hear the taunting in his voice as he said the word Sierra. He turned his head enough to see the handheld radio Saunders pulled from his waistband.

The next five seconds felt like the longest he’d lived through since the moment he'd found Matt's body and made the ID. Thoughts cascaded through his mind. That Saunders had dozens of capable long-distance snipers under his command and the talent to manipulate one of them into killing for him. That survival was about knowing your environment, which gave Saunders the upper hand. But tactics had always been Sam's strength while Saunders relied on manipulation and control. Sam made a split second decision to force Saunders' hand and take back control.

Bracing his arms and legs he pushed back hard and rolled sideways, knocking Saunders off him, feeling Saunders' gun leave his head. He didn’t give the man a second to gather himself. He pulled away, drew his leg back and kicked out, knocking Saunders onto his back, the radio skidding across the wooden slats and falling to the ground below.

But Saunders’ arm still clung to his gun and he had it pointed at Sam before he could make another move. He froze as Saunders got to his knees then to his feet.

Sam caught a flash of light from a nearby copse of trees but his attention reverted to Saunders as he spoke.

“You were such a good soldier. That mix of obedience and defiance. I was going to enjoy breaking you down, bit by bit. Putting you down like a rabid dog doesn’t quite give the same satisfaction. But I’ll take it.” Saunders raised the gun to Sam's head.

As he did, Sam let himself fall back, drawing his knees in and lashing out, kicking Saunders' shins hard with both feet. As he did, two shots rang out. Then Saunders tumbled backwards, propelled by Sam’s kick, falling from the platform to the ground.

***

“Ed, Sam made a move, Saunders is…”

Jules cut off abruptly as Ed arrived at the base of the climbing platform.

He took cover as two shots sounded then a loud thud followed.

“Saunders is down, I took the shot and he fell from the platform. He got off a shot too. Sam is down. We need paramedics.”

Ed approached Saunders' prone form, moving the Colonel's gun out of reach. There was a neat bullet hole visible in the side of Saunders' head, his eyes open and blood pooling around him. “Saunders is dead.” He followed protocol, not giving purchase to the emotions Jules' words provoked. Secure the scene, check for survivors.

He heard a cough and a pained voice called from above him. “Ed, Saunders said he had a sniper nearby.”

Relief flooded him on hearing the familiar voice. “Sam, are you hit?”

“Took one to the vest. I’m okay. Targets are you, the boss and the rest of the team. He’s waiting for Saunders' command to fire.” Sam took a few wheezing breaths between words.

“Greg, you need to keep the negotiation going. Saunders may have a sniper targeting you. Team Two are almost here, we’ll have them do a sweep. As long as Saunders’ accomplice doesn’t realise Saunders is down, we should be okay.”

“Sam?”

“He’s okay. Took a hit to the vest.”

***

Greg struggled to keep his composure as he heard the distant gunshots. Ronan heard them too and sought out Greg’s eyes. “It’s okay. Just my team handling things.”

He heard Ed’s voice over the radio, not letting relief overtake him on hearing Sam was okay. He was still mid-negotiation and the stakes had heightened.

“Ed, those gunshots are going to have been a fairly clear sign that things are not going to plan. I don’t think we can wait for Team two. What’s the most likely sniper perch for this guy to have taken? Assuming he chose after us…”

He let the team work it out as he talked to Ronan.

“So here’s the good news. Saunders is no longer a threat. But he might have had someone else with him, a trained sniper, so we need to keep this going for a while longer. Can you hang in there?”

“Saunders is dead?”

“He’s dead. And your parents are safe. An officer just spoke with them and a patrol car will be with them in the next few minutes.”

Ed came through on the headset. “Greg, one of the uniforms caught sight of the sniper. He’s east of your position. We’re going to distract him while you run for cover northwest. Trees are too thick there to get a clear shot. Can you get Ronan to comply?”

“Ronan, in just a minute, my team are going to distract the sniper while we run for cover, that way.” He pointed to the dark trees behind him. "When I say the word, I need you to drop your gun and come with us. Do you understand? You need to drop your weapon and then we run for cover.”

“I understand. I’m ready.” It was heartening to see the young soldier visibly pull himself together, emboldened by the news of his tormentor’s demise.

“Now Greg, now.” Ed shouted.

“Drop the gun Ronan.” Greg shouted as he ran towards him. To his relief, Ronan let the gun fall to the ground as Greg grabbed his arm and pushed him ahead of him.

They ran into the trees, followed closely by Wordy and Lou, all four listening carefully for the sound of gunfire and hearing nothing but silence.

A single gunshot rocked the forest a moment later.

It was a long ten seconds before Ed’s voice came through the radio. “Subject down. I repeat. Subject down.”

***

The aftermath was a blur. They swept the area twice in case Saunders had any more accomplices while the paramedics arrived and took care of Sam and Ronan.

It was almost two hours before Team One could regroup and it was only for a minute before SIU took them their separate ways. A shooting involving a high ranking military officer was one they wanted to handle with the utmost care. There was enough time for a quick visual and verbal reassurance that everyone was okay.

***

Sam was the last to finish up with SIU. His legal rep clapped him on the shoulder and gave him some parting words of reassurance. Sam wandered tiredly towards the exit, almost walking straight past Ed and Jules who were waiting for him.

“The rest of the team are waiting on us. Greg wants to do the debrief tonight. Holleran has given us a few days leave. Come on, let’s get out of here.” Ed slung an arm across Sam’s shoulders as they walked out.

Half an hour later, they were all in the briefing room, reading through the transcript. Sam filled in the blanks from Saunders arrival and the transcript told him his team had done exactly what he’d knew they would. He could barely keep his eyes open by the time they finished, the sharp throbbing of his ribs helping keep him awake.

“Okay everyone, home time. Team night in our place tomorrow.” Greg shooed everyone towards the locker rooms.

They filed out, Sam stopping Jules outside the locker room.

“I just wanted to say thanks, for having my back out there.”

Jules reached out and hugged him, mindful of his bruised chest. “I’m glad you’re okay. There was a minute there where I thought I was too late.”

Sam grinned. “No, your timing was perfect. Not to mention your aim.”

“See you tomorrow Sam. Take care of those ribs.”

***

Greg drove them home, Sam shifting uncomfortably in the passenger seat next to him, Ed sitting in the back behind Sam.

When Sam shifted for the nth time, biting off a pained moan, Ed took off his seatbelt and leaned forward, wrapping an arm loosely around him. “Nice, slow breaths Sam. We’re almost home.”

Greg drove carefully, trying to keep the bumps to a minimum. He breathed a sigh of relief as he pulled into the driveway. “Ed, you get Sam, I’ll get the door." He got the door open and the hall light on and turned to see Ed at the front door, arm slung around Sam.

“It’s good to be home.” Sam said as they made it over the threshold. “You look asleep on your feet buddy.” Greg said. “Yeah, it’s been a long day. I’m gonna head straight up.” he replied detaching himself from Ed and moving past Greg to make his slow way up the stairs. Ed and Greg exchanged concerned looks. “He might just need some space.” Greg ventured after a moment.

“What he needs is painkillers and a heat pack.” Ed replied, pushing past him into the kitchen. Greg followed with a tired sigh. He grabbed some pills and a glass of water and carried them upstairs while Ed warmed the heat pack. He knocked on Sam’s door, opening it and peering in when he didn’t get a reply. The room was empty.

He checked the bathroom but that too was empty. He found Sam in the master bedroom sitting on the edge of the bed. “Sorry, I didn’t meant to brush you and Ed off like that.” He said, shrugging his shoulders then wincing from the pain even that small movement caused.

“Here, take these.” Greg handed over the pills and watched as Sam took them. “Let’s get you out of your uniform and into something more comfortable.”

Greg got some clothes for Sam to sleep in, turning in time to see Sam pull his shirt off. Deep purple bruising bloomed across his chest from where the bullet had hit his vest just below his heart.

“Your ribs keep taking a battering.” Ed spoke from the doorway. “They’ll mend.” Sam replied, echoing Ed’s own words.

“Yeah, they will. Everything heals with time and care.” Greg added, catching the slight smile his words brought to Sam's face. “Let’s get some sleep. We’ll talk more in the morning.”

They helped Sam into bed, lying on his back, the heat pack over the worst of the bruising. They lay either side of him but didn’t crowd him. A minute passed before Sam voiced a complaint. “I’m not going to shatter if you touch me you know.”

Ed sat up and took in the situation with a calculated gaze. “Would you be comfortable lying on your right side?”

“I think so.”

“Good, roll towards me.”

Sam wound up sandwiched carefully between them, Greg against his back, knees tucked in under his. Ed’s positioning was a little more strategic, one arm helping hold the heat pack in place, Sam's head resting against Ed's chest with the steady beat of Ed's heart echoing in his ear.

“Better?” Ed asked once they were settled.

“Perfect.” Sam mumbled in reply as sleep lulled him under.


	19. Making and Breaking

Ed woke to check on Sam a few times during the night, reassuring himself that their young Alpha was okay. Sam was sleeping deeply, dead to the world. Greg was a different story, his tired eyes meeting Ed’s across Sam’s body.

“We very nearly lost him today.” Ed whispered. “When I heard those shots and Jules saying Sam was down…”

“I know, the idea that Saunders managed to get to him, after everything… but he’s here. He’s safe.” The relief was palpable.

Ed reached a hand over and intertwined his fingers with Greg’s. Sam chose that moment to shift in his sleep, pulling a low moan from him as he jostled his bruised ribs.

“Shh Sam.” Greg ran a gentle hand across Sam’s forehead as the Alpha’s eyes blinked open. 

Sam took a deep breath in, then gasped, breath catching from the pain. “What…” he managed to say. “You took a bullet to the vest Sam. Your ribs are bruised as hell.”

Sam’s eyes went wide and he tried to sit up. “Saunders?”

“He’s dead, Sam. Jules shot him and you kicked him off the climbing platform.” 

He sank back down onto the bed with a pained sigh. “How’s the pain Sam? Out of ten?” 

“Six.” At Ed’s sceptical look he amended. “And a half.” Then, after a pause. “And maybe another half.”

“I’ll go get some pills and another heat pack.” Greg said as he climbed out of bed.

They heard his footsteps fade as he headed down the stairs.

Sam tried to sit up again. “Hold it Sam, try and stay still.”

“I need the bathroom.” He replied, frustration colouring his voice. “Alright, let me help.” Ed said.

He got Sam to his feet and they made their way out, pain evident with each step Sam took. “I can manage from here.” Sam said as they stepped into the bathroom. “You’re not too steady on your feet and Greg’ll have my head if you fall.” Ed said in response. “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

Sam grumbled a little under his breath but didn’t argue as Ed helped him over to the toilet only stepping back when he was sure the young Alpha was stable.

They made their slow return to the bedroom once Sam finished up and Ed helped him back into bed. “On your back this time Sam, we’ll prop you up with some pillows for a bit.” At Sam’s confused look, he clarified. “You’re breathing’s pretty shallow, probably from the pain. Sitting up will help. We don’t want you getting a chest infection.”

He placed extra pillows behind Sam, propping him up high, trying to ignore the discomfort on Sam’s face at the new position. It didn’t work and he found himself leaning in with a sigh to place a kiss on Sam’s temple. “I know Sam, but better safe than sorry.” Sam tipped his head to rest it against Ed’s.

Greg arrived back balancing a glass of water, pills and a heat pack. Ed moved to help taking the heat pack as Greg handed Sam the pills and held the glass of water to his mouth for him to swallow. Ed waited until he was done before lifting Sam's shift and placing the heat pack onto his skin. Sam hissed as it made contact and Greg leaned over him rubbing a warm hand up and down Sam’s arm. “Nice, slow breaths Sam, it’ll ease down in a minute.” Sam shifted instead pulling a pained gasp from his throat.

“Sam.” Greg’s voice took on a commanding tone. “Breathe with me, okay. Deep breath in... and out. Again. In and out.” Ed held the heat pack in place with the lightest pressure as Greg coaxed Sam through some slow breaths using gentle encouragement to get him through the worst of the pain.

Ed watched the tension ease from Sam’s face as his breathing evened out. His eyes closed. Ed climbed back into bed next to him as Greg pulled the covers back into place. He reached over to turn off the light and lay back, watching the darkness. Sam’s voice came out of the gloom. “This sucks.”

“Yeah buddy, it does. Try and get some sleep.”

But it seemed Sam was in the mood to talk. “Is it bad that I’m glad he’s dead?”

Ed held his tongue, knowing Greg was the better person to handle Sam’s question. “No, Sam. That’s a normal reaction. You’re going to be feeling a lot of stuff the next few days. Nothing that you feel is wrong, it’s all part of trying to deal with this. I can’t say I’m sorry he’s dead but mostly I’m just relieved you’re okay.”

“That goes for me too buddy.” Ed broke in. “I’m not sorry the bastard’s dead…” He couldn’t see the disapproval on Greg’s face at his words, but he knew it was there. “…but having you here, safe, is what matters.”

“He wanted me to kill you both.” Sam had told them Saunders’ plan during the debrief.

“I know buddy. But he seriously underestimated you if he thought there was ever a chance you’d follow his orders. You did exactly what you needed to do, followed your training and took action to prevent further loss of life, even though Saunders had a gun to your head. And I’m so proud of you for that.” Greg said.

“We’re proud of you.” Ed corrected. His eyes had adjusted to the dark and he could make out Sam’s face next to him, eyes open. He was quiet for a minute and when he spoke, his voice was soft and tired.

“It was like in my nightmares. In my dreams I was taking out targets and when I went to do the IDs, it was you, both of you, and sometimes the rest of the team or Nat and my Mom.” 

“You never told us.” It came out softer than Ed had intended.

“It seemed stupid. It was just a dream. And talking about it…”

“Would have made it feel more real?” Greg suggested. “Something like that.” Sam yawned, eyes closing of their own accord as he fought to keep them open. “And then it was real. I had the gun in my hands and you were the targets. My nightmare came to life.”

“And it all worked out okay.” Ed interjected as Sam yawned again. “Time to sleep Sam. We’ll have plenty of opportunity to talk tomorrow. You need some rest. We all do.” Ed felt a bit bad about pulling out the we card but he knew it would guilt Sam into getting his own much needed rest because he wouldn’t want to stop them getting theirs.

“Can I turn back on my side?” he groused. “In a little while. Here, just close your eyes.” Ed moved onto his side and reached a hand over, placing a single finger in the centre of Sam’s forehead, stroking down the bridge of his nose. “Focus on this.” He repeated the motion, over and over until Sam’s breathing evened out and his grip on the covers slackened.

He peered over Sam at Greg, happy to see their negotiator was also deep in sleep. He relaxed back on the bed and let sleep pull him under too. In the morning, everything would look clearer.

***

Sam was still sleeping when they woke and they both moved carefully so as not to wake him. Greg took one look at Ed and knew he wasn’t okay. Their dealings with Saunders had taken a toll and yesterday had been the proverbial, and very nearly the literal, straw that broke the camels back. He hustled him out of the room and towards the bathroom sliding closed the bedroom and bathroom doors as they passed. “He might wake up.” Ed protested.

“He’s fast asleep, analgesia won’t wear off for another while. We have time.”

“Time for what?” Ed asked, trying to push past him to the door.

“Time for a shower.” Greg said simply, herding him further into the room and reaching to turn on the water. “A shower can wait.” Ed argued. “But you can’t. I know you, don’t forget. I know where your head is at.”

“Fine. Can we make this fast?” Ed grumbled at him even as he conceded, pulling off his clothes and stepping under the water. Greg followed.

“Against the wall, Ed.” When the other man resisted, Greg stepped up close and spoke in his ear. “I know you need this. Sam’s not going anywhere, we’ll be finished before he wakes up.

He was relieved when Ed acquiesced, moving to lean against the tiled wall. Greg reached to grab a bottle from the shelf, glancing at the label before pouring some onto his hand, generously coating his fingers. He leaned in, placing on steadying hand on Ed’s hip and kissing the back of Ed’s neck as he pressed a slick finger against him, pushing in gently but persistently. Ed groaned in response.

“God, you’re tight.” Greg whispered against him as he pulled out and pushed in again. Kissing and sucking on Ed’s skin as a distraction, he slid a second finger in. Ed muffled a sound against his arm and Greg paused. “Too much?”

“No, keep going.” Ed replied, breathing hard. He turned his head to the side and Greg captured his mouth in a kiss.

Greg pulled away to pick the bottle up and spread more lubricant on his fingers before continuing. Ed was beginning to loosen up as he pressed three fingers into him, groaning long and loud and pushing back against Greg’s hand. Deciding he was ready, Greg turned him so they were face to face. “No.” Ed shook his head. “Not like that, like this.” He tried to turn back to face the tiles.

“No.” Greg put his foot down. “I need to be able to see your face.” He knew Ed wanted it rough, but he needed to know he wasn’t hurting him.

He could see the frustration and clear need on Ed’s face. “Greg, please.”

“I know.” He leaned in to kiss Ed’s neck, sucking hard over his pulse point until he heard Ed’s breath cut off with a hiss of pain. “But we do this my way.” He reached a hand down and encircled Ed who was already hard, drawing a shudder from him. He stroked once, twice, pulling moans from Ed, who leaned back heavily against the tiles.

“Fine. Your way.” Ed choked out as a third stroke left him gasping and leaking over Greg’s hand.

Greg manoeuvred Ed into position, widening his stance and angling him so he had a clear view of Ed’s face.

“We good?” Ed asked, pushing forward a little. Greg answered with action, pressing him back with one hand, using the other to push his legs further apart, lifting one to hook around his waist, giving them just the right angle. He positioned himself carefully then pushed in with one smooth thrust, watching Ed’s face as he did, Ed’s head falling back against the wall, eyes closing.

Greg gave him a minute to adjust, then pulled out before thrusting in again, Ed’s hands trying to find purchase against the tiles to hold himself in place. Greg kept going in a rhythm of harsh thrusts, each one drawing a tight moan from Ed. His leg tightened around Greg as the older Alpha leaned in to capture his mouth, swallowing Ed’s groans with a deep kiss that left them both breathless.

Greg’s hand found its way into the tight space between their bodies to help Ed along as his thrusts grew more erratic. Ed came with a muffled curse, burying his head in Greg’s shoulder. Greg followed seconds later, breath coming in pants of exertion.

Ed relaxed his leg as Greg pulled out but didn’t pull away. Instead, he crowded closer, nose nudging Ed’s collarbone. “Better?” The word was a whisper against Ed’s skin. Ed reached a hand and tipped Greg’s head up so they were eye to eye. “You always know just what I need.”

“What are lovers for?” Greg replied with a tired smile. “Now, let’s clean up and go check on our patient.”


	20. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we reach the end....

Sam woke to weak sunlight streaming through the window.

The bed shifted next to him and he turned his head to see Ed beside him. “Hey.”

“Hey yourself.”

He relished those few seconds of peace, where he didn’t know anything. Not what day it was or what was going on. Just that he was here and Ed was beside him. Memories rose unbidden, filling in the gaps. Saunders. Jules. Bruised ribs.

He shifted and groaned. “Ouch.”

“Here, take these.” He took the proffered pills and the glass of water Ed handed to him.

“How do you feel?”

He thought about it for a moment, taking a few experimental breaths. It hurt but it wasn’t the agony of last night.

“Not too bad, all things considered. How are you doing?” He knew yesterday must have taken a toll on both Ed and Greg.

Ed smiled at him, eyes warm and intense. “I’m okay. Happy you’re here.”

“Do you think I could shower? I feel grimey.” And he did, layers of sweat and dirt seemingly locked into his skin.

“How about a bath?” Ed countered. “It’ll help the ache.”

“Hard to have company in the bath.” He mumbled, drawing a surprised laugh from Ed. “I don’t think you’re up for that kind of company right now.”

Sam sighed, reluctantly agreeing with Ed’s assessment. “Fine, bath it is.”

“I’ll go run the water.”

Ed disappeared from the room and Sam heard the water turn on a few seconds later. The day was brightening up, the sun strengthening its attempts to push past the clouds. It fit with Sam’s mood. The storm was over.

“You’re up.” A voice spoke from the doorway.

“Morning.” Sam replied as Greg moved to sit on the bed.

“How’s the pain?”

“It’s better. I took some more painkillers. Ed's running me a bath.”

“Good. Team’s coming over later. Jules called to check on you.”

“Sorry for breaking the rule.” Sam said, out of the blue.

“What rule is that?” Greg asked with curiosity.

“The ‘not getting taken hostage more than once a year’ rule.”

Greg laughed. “Ah, that rule. I think we can forgive you this once.” He leaned over to press a kiss to Sam’s cheek. Sam cupped a hand under Greg’s chin, turning him so their lips could meet. It was a long, slow kiss and they broke apart reluctantly. Greg pressed his face into Sam’s neck and stroked light fingers along Sam’s cheek.

“Bath’s ready.” Ed spoke from the doorway.

Greg pulled away. “Come on, let’s get you up.”

“I can manage.” Sam tried to protest. “There’s nothing wrong with my legs.” He saw the determined look in Greg’s eyes and gave in. “Fine, fine.”

Moving was easier than it had been the night before, but he was glad of the help when it came to pulling his shirt off over his head, his ribs pulsing in pain at the movement.

He leaned on Ed as he stepped into the bath and lowered himself to sit, submerging his body under the hot water. He let his eyes close as he felt his body relax, muscles releasing their tension.

Minutes passed in blissful relaxation.

He opened his eyes to see both Alphas watching him, sponges in hand. “What?” he asked.

“Nothing. We just think you’ll need some help washing.”

He was about to protest that he was sure he could manage when he realised this was more about what they needed than what he did. They were always possessive and protective after he got hurt.

He’d started to feel it himself when they were under threat on a call. It meant the Alpha bond between them was there, and growing.

“Sure, I could probably do with a hand.”

Greg knelt near his head, dunking the sponge into the water before starting with his shoulders. Ed started down at his toes and Sam had to stop himself from moving too much as the sensation of the sponge running over the soles of his feet tickled. He let himself relax again as Greg ran his sponge down along Sam’s arm to his fingers, over his palms and back up again, while Ed ran his up along Sam’s leg.

It was intimate and, to some awkwardness on Sam’s part, kind of arousing. He closed his eyes and tried to will himself to relax. Greg didn’t seem to notice, so intent was he on what he was doing. He couldn’t say the same for Ed though as a hand stroked over him briefly before encircling him. It was enough to force his eyes open and he tried to sit up, Greg’s strong hands on his shoulders pushing him back.

“Just relax Sam and let us take care of you.”

“But… Ed…” he tried to get the words out, Greg’s body blocking his view of what the other man was doing. “Ed knows what he’s doing. What you need to do is relax and let us _take care_ of you.”

He was slow to catch on to the meaning behind Greg’s words as he let himself sink slowly back down into the water, breath catching as Ed’s hand teased along him again.

Greg washed his chest in slow circles, ignoring the hitches of Sam’s breath and long moans as Ed worked him over with slow, steady strokes. Greg leaned over and placed a line of kisses on the wet skin below Sam’s collar bone.

When he came minutes later, with a quiet groan of pleasure, Greg held his upper body still so he couldn’t jostle his ribs. Then he pulled back and Ed leaned over, kissing Sam on the mouth, all teeth and tongue, leaving Sam panting for breath.

“You said something about company?” Ed was grinning and Sam couldn't keep the smile from his face.

“At this rate we’ll never get you clean.” Greg grumbled, tugging Sam forward gently to wash his back. But he was smiling.

They rinsed him off in the shower, Greg washing his hair with careful hands.

The painkillers kicked in and he was feeling more himself as he dried off and dressed under the watchful gaze of his two Alphas.

***

The rest of the team arrived in the afternoon. Jules was last, with a tray of freshly baked brownies, to cheers from them all.

They sprawled across the living room, eating and chatting. There was a lot of good-natured teasing, mainly about Sam trying to muscle in on Wordy’s reputation as the one who got shot.

Jules ambushed Sam upstairs when he stepped out of the bathroom.

“Can we talk?”

“Sure.” He led the way into his bedroom, taking a seat on the bed, Jules sitting next to him.

“So how are you doing, really? And I’m not talking about your ribs.”

He sighed. “On balance, better than I thought I’d be. I guess I’m still processing everything that’s happened. Greg made an appointment for me with Dr. Luria tomorrow and if she okays it I’ll start back to work as soon as I'm healed. And we’ll take things from there.”

“And Ed and the boss?”

The question brought a smile to his face. “They’ve been really great through all of this. Letting me know they’re there and trying their best not to smother me. It’ll be a while before they stop being so protective. Hopefully not too long though, the Alpha in me doesn’t like being babied so much.”

Jules grinned. “I know what you mean. The last time I was injured, they went completely overboard. I was practically encased in bubblewrap. I had to call Wordy to come rescue me and convince them I could go home and stay in my own place. Don’t be afraid to let them know when they need to back off. They won’t take offence.”

He smiled at the image of Wordy trying to talk them down from swaddling Jules to keep her safe.

“Speaking of which, we’d better get back down there before they send a search party.”

Jules went first, Sam taking the stairs more slowly. Ed was waiting for him at the bottom.

"Everything okay?" He slung an arm around Sam's shoulders. "Sure. All good." He reassured.

***

The appointment with Dr. Luria went better than expected. She reiterated a lot of what Greg had said about what he might feel over the coming days and weeks. They spoke about the team and their support, and about the Alpha bond he had with Greg and Ed.

He left feeling more secure in himself that things were going to get better. His ribs were healing, and he'd be back at work in a few days; almost like he'd never left.

***

The next month passed by almost uneventfully. Sam returned to work and the Team took plenty of calls, some harder than others. He settled in to his new room in Greg and Ed’s place. A lot of nights were spent in the Master bedroom, but it was nice to have his own space when he wanted it.

Greg and Ed’s protectiveness eased off and they became more vocal, and encouraged Sam to be more vocal, about what they wanted from the relationship. From the simple things like not leaving wet towels on the bathroom floor (Greg’s pet hate) to having sex for the sake of it and not just in the aftermath of bad calls (Ed’s stipulation).

The whole team went out for drinks at the Goose and Sam found himself outside with Jules once more.

“So you’re looking happy these days.” She smiled at him knowingly and he smiled back.

“Yeah, well, things are pretty great. I have a job I love and a team that are like family. I’m happier than I ever thought I had any right to be.”

“And you, Ed and the boss?”

“We’re a work in progress, but when I’m home with them… it’s like I’m home, you know?”

“I don't, but I can imagine.” Her smile was a little wistful.

“So, you and Mark, how’s that going?”

She waved it off. “Going and gone I’m afraid. Couldn’t hack the mundaneness of dating an accountant.” She made a face at him before changing the subject.

“So you’ve got the job, the relationship, the white picket fence. You know what you guys need now?” She smiled a teasing smile.

"What’s that?”

“An Omega.”

She laughed at the look on his face and after a moment he joined in. “Yeah, that’s just what we need to add to this crazy situation.”

“Maybe you could talk Ed into getting a dog instead. Might be safer for all involved.” She joked. “I’m gonna head back in. Are you coming?”

“I’ll be there in a minute.”

He waited until she was gone and let his smile falter, just for a second. Her joke had hit a little too close to home. She was right, he had everything he’d ever wanted. The only thing missing was an Omega.

He pushed the long nurtured yearning to one side and he resolved to be content with, and build on, what he had. A team. A home. A family.

The door opened again and he turned to see Ed and Greg making a beeline for him.

"We were going to call it a night. What do you say?" Greg asked, throwing an arm around Sam. He leaned in to the embrace as Ed sidled up beside them, resting a warm hand on Sam's shoulder, fingers just teasing under the collar of Sam's shirt, a hint of what had them so keen for an early night. He shivered a little in anticipation.

"Sounds good to me." He replied with a grin. "Let's go home."

***

Epilogue

_Seven months later_

They were clearing the back room of the warehouse. There was someone hiding there, he was sure of it. Ed was certain too and they split off in different directions to search the room.

Ed’s footsteps paused and Sam turned to look in his direction. Ed pointed to a shelving unit beside him before speaking, his voice calm.

“Alright now, come on out.”

The man who appeared in view was tall, pale and dark haired. He stood up slowly from a crouch, his hands trembling as he held them up. Ed searched him while Sam cleared the remainder of the room, then moved to join them.

As he approached, he realised what Ed must have already discovered. The man they’d found wasn’t just another subject; he was an Omega. And given the rules around Omegas were a little like finders keepers, this one now belonged to them. Whether that was a good or bad thing was hard to determine.

They led the Omega through the warehouse and over to Greg. He grew more frightened as they walked, Sam moving to shield him from the worst of the bloodbath from the shoot out.

He saw the moment panic overtook the Omega who mentally checked out for a bit, becoming almost non-responsive. It was disturbing for all of them to see and spoke volumes about what the Omega may have been through. Once the paramedic had cleared him, Greg had asked Sam to take him to the car. The worried look on Greg’s face was reflected in his own.

The Omega came to all of a sudden, eyes looking around with caution. Their first few moments of interaction were coloured by the Omega’s fear and wariness but Sam saw it gradually give way to curiosity, at least where he was concerned.

As brown eyes met blue for the first time, he felt the a tiny spark come to life inside him, one that would grow over days and weeks until it burned brightly, a bond that held all of them together more tightly than any uniform or creed and redefined what the Alphas had come to know as home and family.

Until the day it was taken from them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... and there you have it. Thanks to everyone for reading along, leaving kudos, and for the much appreciated comments. As you may have guessed, I have a sequel planned to this and In the Middle of All Things, which will be fairly Sam and Spike central.


End file.
